I think i see it a bit differently. The scripture Jesus is talking about was the Torah. There was no NT for 300 years after Jesus was killed. When you see the term "scripture" in your NT, know that it refers to Torah and not the NT. The NT is a collection of writings attributed to the authors' name but in reality we dont know who wrote them. So my answer would be if its scripture your after, the OT trumps the NT hands down.

I don't know how I got to this board really, but ill answer your second question directly since that seems to be what's missing. In my opinion all scripture has incredible value, equal value, in that it all gives a piece of the picture of God's nature, who he is, the depths of his character. So if you neglect one part of scripture, you're working with a less than compete view of God. However, in terms of importance, there are certain parts of scripture, like the words Jesus says about the most important command or Paul's summation of the gospel, that you could essentially base your entire life off of and so I believe they are "more important." Neglect of the rest of scripture, though, could lead you to an ignorance that causes you to misuse the knowledge you do have (for example if you read the gospel but fail to read that the gospel is intended for everyone or that we are being sent to share it). Hope this helps in some way..better late than never. God bless.

The emphasis is on "All". Timothy was a Jew and there was no need to remind him that scripture was inspired (God breathed). However there was some argument between Greek speaking and Aramaic speaking Jews about the extent of scripture. Paul quotes almost always from the Greek OT or Septuagint, as did the other new Testament writers. Paul here is saying that the Greek OT is as inspired as the Aramaic and Hebrew books. He is not referring to the New Testament since none of it was written at the time and its designation as scripture was a long way off.

I regard this question and its answer so important that I think it merits some more attention and especially the implied question in the example given by Greg"

"For example, are Jesus' words more important than Paul's?"

A lot has already been said about the fact that the word "γραφή" or "graphē" can only refer to writings from the old testament. It is enough to say that I agree on the basis of what has already been mentioned.

I want to draw attention to two other very important points about this scripture and question without which we cannot reach a conclusive answer.

The first point is that the original Greek does NOT read "All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness"

but rather:

πασα γραφη     θεοπνευστος  και ωφελιμος   προς διδασκαλιαν προς    
All  scripture God-breathed and beneficial for  teaching    for 

ελεγχον προς επανορθωσιν προς παιδειαν    την   εν  δικαιοσυνη
reproof for  correction  for  instruction the   in  righteousness

In the Greek there is no "is" before "God-breathed" and also not in front of "beneficial"! In SOME translations they were added by the translators for "easier reading" but unfortunately it changes the meaning of the passage completely.

As Ellicott says in his commentary for English Readers:

(16) All scripture is given by inspiration of God.—Although this rendering is grammatically possible, the more strictly accurate translation, and the one adopted by nearly all the oldest and most trustworthy versions (for example, the Syriac and the Vulgate), and by a great many of the principal expositors in all ages (for instance, by such teachers as Origen, Theodoret, Grotius, Luther, Meyer, Ellicott, and Alford), runs as follows: “Every scripture inspired by God is also profitable for doctrine, for reproof,” &c.

The rendering followed by the English version, and which is certainly grammatically possible, by making—“all Scripture” the subject, and “given by inspiration of God” the predicate, declares positively the inspiration of all the Old Testament Scriptures, for this is what the Apostle must have referred to, if we understand this verse as we have it rendered in the English version above. The New Testament at this period was certainly not all written; for instance, St. John’s Gospel, St. John’s Epistles, the Epistle to the Hebrews, and the Apocalypse, with several of the Catholic Epistles, probably were composed at a later date than that assigned to this letter to Timothy. St. Paul, massing together an evidently well-known number of writings under the term πᾶσα γραϕή, spoke of the Jewish Scriptures, the “canon” of which was then determined.

But such a declaration of the inspiration of these writings to Timothy and to those associated with him would seem unnecessary and uncalled for. Timothy and the trained Jew of the first century would never dream of doubting the divine origin of their most prized and sacred writings. There is nothing in the verses immediately preceding which would call out such a statement. It seems, therefore, on exegetical, as well as on grammatical, considerations best to follow the interpretation of those ancient and venerable witnesses the Syriac and Latin (Jerome’s) versions...

This is also the rendering that the translation pioneer William Tyndale uses:

"For all scripture geve by inspiracion of god is proffitable to teache to improve to amende and to instruct in rightewesnes" (Tyndale Bible)

The following English translations of the bible also use this rendering:

The Revised Standard Version of 1881: "All Scripture that is divinely inspired is also profitable"

The American Standard Version of 1901: "Every scripture inspired of God [is] also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness"

The New English Bible: "Every Scripture inspired of God is also useful"

We must note that the verse is perfectly understandable WITHOUT adding the "is" in front of "God-Breathed" and therefore it should never have been inserted.

So we end up with two possible renderings that has COMPLETELY different meanings on a subject that is foundational to every Christian that is serious about God and the difference is caused by a word ADDED to the original text!

The second, but in my view, by far most important point that I want to raise is that the Higher Authority, that according to the very Bible that we are discussing is THE TRUTH, the way and the life, has not been consulted.

In fact by even a casual study of the Gospel of John the answer to the questions raised by Greg is ABSOLUTELY clear!

Firstly, according to John 1 Jesus IS THE WORD. Then in John 5:39-40 Jesus makes the following statement to the Pharisees:

39 "You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. 40 But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life". (NKJV)

And right there, I believe, we have the answer to Greg's question:

The role of the "scriptures" (old testament Law and prophets, as already shown) is to testify that Jesus is who He says He is and that we can KNOW that we must trust in, listen to and do HIS words.

Should anyone want more proof then consider Jesus's words in John 6:63

"63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life." (NKJV, Emphasis added)

Also Peter's words in John 6:68

"68 But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." (NKJV, Emphasis added)

Then in John 12: 47-50

"47 And if anyone hears My words and does not believe,[i] I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. 48 He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day. 49 For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. 50 And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.” (NKJV, Emphasis added)

In John 12 to 15 Jesus emphasizes the importance of HIS words and commandments by referring to it at least 16 times.

Then, as if that is not enough, the Father Himself settles the matter on the mount of transfiguration Mat 17:5

” 5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!” (NASB, Emphasis added)

With such overwhelming evidence, we can only conclude that Jesus's words are not only FAR more important than any other scriptures, it is HIS words that are life and by HIS words the we will be judged!

2 Timothy 3:16 says that all scripture is God-breathed. The words clearly have the meaning that all scripture is inspired by God.

If Paul wrote these words, he can only have been writing of the Old Testament, since there was no notion of the books of New Testament as 'scripture' during the first century, and in any case, Paul lived before the first gospel was even written(1). Alternatively, according to the consensus of New Testament scholars (2), Second Timothy was written in Paul's name by an anonymous author decades after his death. In this case, we may choose to accept this claim on its merits, but it would not have the imprimatur of Paul himself. The real meaning of 2 Timothy depends on its provenance.

(1) John Carroll explains in The Existential Jesus, page 11, that the consensus of scholars is that Mark was written first, around 70 CE.

(2) Burton L. Mack says in Who Wrote the New Testament, page 206, that Second Timothy was undoubtedly written during the first half of the second century.

The meaning of 2 Timothy 3:16 hinges on the meaning of two words in that verse:

1. θεόπνευστος

(theopneustos), "God-breathed, inspired by God"

This word occurs only once in the New Testament, in 2 Timothy 3:16. However, it is a compound of two common Greek words meaning "God" and "breath," so translating it is easy enough.

Exactly what the writer of 2 Timothy meant by it, however, is a matter of much debate among Christians, over many centuries. Various Christian theologians, denominations, and churches have come to different conclusions, in line with their views of the Bible and its inspiration. So there is no definitive answer; it is a matter of perspective.

However, in forming a view of the meaning of "inspired by God," it helps to know that our English words "breathe" and "inspire" reduce to only one word in the Biblical languages. If you wanted to say either "breath" or "inspiration" in Hebrew or Greek, you would use the same word.

For example:

Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being. (Genesis 2:7)

This is usually interpreted to mean God literally breathed life into Adam. But it could also mean that God vivified Adam from God's spirit, which can be seen as the breath of life spiritually. Consider this incident in the New Testament:

When he [Jesus] had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit." (John 20:22)

In this incident as written, Jesus physically breathed on his disciples (which is a little hard to picture), and in connection with that breathing invited them to receive the Holy Spirit.

It is unlikely that he literally meant that his breath was the Holy Spirit, and that his disciples were literally receiving the Holy Spirit as his breath touched their bodies. Rather, it is likely that Jesus meant his physical breathing on them to serve as a memorable physical image and metaphor of receiving the Holy Spirit--which is a spiritual and divine reality, not a physical one.

There is no way to state definitively what the writer of 2 Timothy meant by "God-breathed" or "inspired by God."

However, the example of God breathing into Adam's nostrils the breath of life so that he became a living soul, and the example of Jesus breathing on the disciples and inviting them to receive the Holy Spirit, suggests that inspiration when spoken of something that comes from God, such as the Bible (seen by Christians as "the Word of God"), means having life in it from God--especially spiritual life, which is the presence of the Holy Spirit, or the Spirit of Truth (see John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13; 1 John 4:6).

From this we can at least conclude fairly reliably that when the writer of 2 Timothy speaks of "God-breathed" or "inspired by God," he means that it contains the living spirit and truth of God.

2. γραφή

(graphē), "Scripture, writing"

Unlike theopneustos, which occurs only once in the New Testament, graphe is a common word, occurring 51 times in the New Testament. It is related to the basic, common Greek verb meaning "to write." In its various forms and derivatives, this word occurs over 300 times in the New Testament. It is simply the common word for "writing."

The noun form graphe in the New Testament is almost always used to mean "Scriptures." For example:

You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that testify on my behalf. (John 5:39)

No New Testament canon had yet been adopted during the era in which the various books of the New Testament were written. The usual meaning for graphe, then, is the Old Testament scriptures, or Hebrew Bible.

The Old Testament canon

Even the Jewish canon, or Hebrew Bible, had not been fully settled by New Testament times. However, at a minimum the Torah, or "Law," which is the first five books of our Bible, was well-established at that time. And the Nevi'im, or Prophets was fairly well codified as consisting of:

1. The Former Prophets: Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings
2. The Latter Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the twelve Minor Prophets

These are almost certainly the books Jesus was referring to whenever he spoke of "the Law and the Prophets." However, Jesus also refers to Daniel as a prophet (Matthew 24:15), and in addition to quoting the Psalms several times as Scripture, in Luke 24:44 he explicitly includes the Psalms with "Moses" (the Law) and the Prophets as being written about him (prophetically).

So the Old Testament books that Jesus referred to the most, and gave the greatest weight to, were those contained in the Jewish Law and Prophets, plus Daniel and the Psalms.

The third division of Jewish scripture, the Ketuvim, or Writings, containing the rest of the books that are in the Protestant Old Testament (it does not include the Apocrypha), was not so clearly defined in New Testament times. Though they are referred to or alluded to at various places in the New Testament, they seem not to have carried the same weight that was given to the Law and the Prophets.

So when the New Testament refers to "the Scriptures," it is especially referring to the Law and the Prophets as defined in the Jewish canon, plus Daniel and the Psalms. These are the books that were given the greatest weight as Scripture in New Testament times.

Graphe in 2 Timothy 3:16 and 2 Peter 3:15-16

Since the New Testament canon had not yet been determined at the time that the various books of the New Testament were written, it is very unlikely that any of the writers of those books would have referred to them as "Scriptures" in the sense that we give to that word today.

In English, we are blessed with many words to refer to written materials.

In New Testament Greek, there are only one or two that are commonly used. One of them is graphe and related forms. The other is the word from which we get "epistle," which means a letter written to a person or group, very much the way we use the word in that sense today.

Because of this, the writers of the New Testament would have used the word graphe not only to refer to Scriptures as we understand them, but to refer to any written material as written material.

Most of the places where this word occurs in the New Testament, the meaning is not in question, because it is clearly referring to the Old Testament Scriptures as outlined above. That is the most likely meaning of "Scripture" in 2 Timothy 3:16.

However, there is one passage in the Epistles where, because of the context, it cannot mean only the Old Testament Scriptures:

So also our beloved brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, speaking of this as he does in all his letters. There are some things in them hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures. (2 Peter 3:15-16)

Christians, especially conservative Christians, commonly read this to mean that already at the time of the writing of 2 Peter the letters of Paul were being seen as Scripture. And by extension, putting this verse together with 2 Timothy 3:16, the traditional interpretation is that all of the books that are now included in our New Testament canon are stated to be "Scripture" and "inspired" or "God-breathed" by the New Testament itself.

However, this view is anachronistic. Once again, at the time that the various books of the New Testament were written, there was no set canon of books of the New Testament.

So there is no basis in statements made in the books of the New Testament themselves for the idea that the writer(s) of 2 Peter and 2 Timothy were saying, "All of the books that were later canonized as part of the New Testament are Sacred Scriptures and are inspired by God."

Most likely, graphe in 2 Peter 3:15-16 is being used in a broader sense to mean various writings that were being circulated among the early Christians. A modern way of saying this would be that he is referring to the then-existing body of Christian literature, which included various letters of Paul.

In 2 Timothy 3:16, on the other hand, the most likely meaning of graphe is the same as its meaning almost everywhere else in the New Testament: the Old Testament or Hebrew Scriptures.

Which books are most important?

Based on all of this:

1. We can draw some reasonable conclusions from the New Testament about which books of Old Testament carried the greatest weight. Those books are the ones included in the Jewish Law and Prophets, plus the books of Daniel and Psalms. Lamentations could also be included as an extension of the book of Jeremiah.
2. We cannot draw any strong and reliable conclusions from statements within the books of the New Testament about which books of the New Testament are inspired by God, or are the most important, or should be included in the Christian canon of Scripture. Historically speaking, those determinations fell to later Christian councils.

As covered in From a Fundamentalist standpoint, what does the phrase "Inspired, infallible, inerrant Word of God" mean?

Definition of the term "Inspired": The doctrine of the inspiration of the Bible means that the Bible in the original documents is God-breathed, that it is a divine product, and, because it is divine, the original documents are inerrant.

• "inspired" does not mean "inspired" in the common sense, as in an artist is inspired to produce a great work, or a football team is inspired to perform better than normal die to a very motivational speech. In the doctrine of Divine Inspiration, the term carries the connotation that the words are the actual words of God.

• Many cite [2 Timothy 3:16][1] as the source for the term "inspired". The term "God Breathed" is translated from the Greek word "Theopneustos", which conveys the idea of God directly filled the writer with the necessary knowledge - the God breathed the knowledge into the writer.

• From Clarke's Commentary on the Bible, we get two possible meanings for the idea of how this worked:

  1. That every thought and word were inspired by God, and that the writer did nothing but merely write as the Spirit dictated.
  2. That God gave the whole matter, leaving the inspired writers to their own language; and hence the great variety of style and different modes of expression. (This is the understanding that is most common in Baptist Churches in particular, and in most Fundamentalist Churches in my admittedly limited experience.) This is known as Plenary Inspiration.

  More possible meanings are available at http://www.theopedia.com/Inspiration_of_the_Bible