Logos Word of God – BT6:  Early Jewish Church only used 2.6% of the Old Testament

 

 

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Many Gentile-Christians and churches simply don’t understand that MUCH of the New Testament (NT) was specifically directed ONLY to Jews, or to specific individuals or churches to address specific problems, and that there is no indication that these writings were meant for a broader audience – absolutely none!  Many times you can understand this from just reading the introduction or by careful analysis of the pronouns “we” and “us,” the context of the phrases “I write this” or “I say this,” or the specificity of the topics discussed. The first rule of every effective teacher is “to know thy audience” and the first rule of hermeneutics or bible interpretation is “to know the intended audience” and not try to apply what is written to anybody outside the “intended audience” – in other words, stay within the context:  “A text without a context is a pretext for a proof-text,” as the great professor & author D. A. Carson once stated!  The NT shows great contempt for using the OT Law or old covenant’s gramma writings of graphe scripture within the Christian Church, which is “out of context” – see Logos Word of God – BT8, especially considering that at least 97.4% of the OT is based on the condition-loving favor of the Law – see Logos Word of God – BT5a, which is diametrically opposed to the unconditionally-loving-favor-of-grace that the gospel logos message of The Truth is based on.

 

Even a cursory reading of the OT will reveal that much of it is NOT of the ‘kind/class/category’ of The Prophets and if NOT, then it still contains NO prophesies, but instead consists mostly the Law of commandments, historical narrative, and doctrinal expositional teaching.  According to The Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecy by J. Barton Payne, there are only 1,239 (5%) OT prophecies within 23,145 verses, only 61 clearly about Jesus (0.26%), and only 7 about the New Everlasting Covenant (0.03%)!  However, others have determined 365 references (1.57%) – see also Salvation – BT4.  There are about 600 verses (2.6%) that we see have been used in the early Church about Christ, the gospel logos message, and NT realities.  This is what the Jewish-Christians were gleaning from every book of the OT graphe scripture (a), every major ‘kind/class/category’ of graphe scripture (b), and even Moses (c) to convert Jews to trusting-relying-faith in Jesus, NOT the other 97.4% – see Logos Word of God – BT8. <Notes> a) Luke 24:27, b) Luke 24:44, c) John 1:45; Deuteronomy 18:15.

 

In fact, the NT writers were very careful to NEVER use scripture except to prove to Jews the completely-different-in-kind New Way of Christ, His gospel logos message of The Truth, and  “The Promise” of the Holy Spirit that is all NOW part of the completely-different-in-kind New Covenant (a).  Most of these come from the 600 prophecies that make up 2.6% of the OT – see Logos Word of God – BT6, leaving 97.4% that are based on the Law, that “has vanished, ended, and been abolished” and that Christians were to “have died to.”  If the NT writers were so careful in their use of the OT, only using it to preach the gospel to Jews “imprisoned by the graphe scripture” (b), will we also follow their example?  Or will we still hold on to it as the Jewish bible-students did (c), or the Jewish-Christians tempted by Jewish teachers to “turn back again to the weak and worthless stoicheion elementary ‘abc’ principles of the world [even of the Jewish religion per Colossians 2:8, 16-18, 20-23], whose slaves you want to be once more,” which in context is referring to the Mosaic Law (d), which is the whole reason the book of Hebrews was written to defend against?  If the early Jewish-Christians only used it to covert fellow Jews, why would Gentiles use it to convert Gentiles who care less about ancient Jewish writings?  Paul sure never used that approach!

 

<Notes> a) Matthew 1:22, 2:5, 15-17, 2:23, 3:3, 4:4, 6, 7, 10, 14, 8:17, 12: 17, 11:10, 13:14, 35, 21:13, 26:24, 31, 56, 27:9; Mark 1:2, 7:6, 9:12-13, 11:17, 14:21, 27; Luke 1:70, 2:23, 3:4, 4:4, 8, 10, 17, 27, 11:49-50, 19:46, 20:17, 21:22, 37, 24:44, 46; John 1:23, 2:17, 6:31, 45, 8:17, 10:34, 12:14, 16, 38, 15:25; Acts 1:20, 2:16, 3:18, 21, 24, 7:42, 48, 8:28, 30, 34, 10:43, 13:29, 33, 40, 15:15, 23:5, 24:14, 28:23, 25; Romans 1:2, 17, 2:24, 3:4, 10, 21, 4:17, 23, 8:36, 9:13, 33, 10:15, 11:8, 26, 12:19, 14:11, 15:3, 4, 9, 21, 16:26; 1 Corinthians 1:19, 31, 2:9, 3:19, 6:16, 9:9, 10, 10:7, 11, 14:21, 15:45, 54; 2 Corinthians 8:15, 9:9; Galatians 3:10, 13, 4:22, 27; Hebrews 1:1; 1 Peter 1:10, 16; and 2 Peter 1:19-21, 3:2, b) Galatians 3:22, c) John 5:38-40, d) Galatians 4:9.

 

The first 200 years of Church history confirms that early Jewish-Christians used only ‘kinds/classes/categories’ of OT graphe scripture that were “routinely/habitually, powerfully-enabling to make you wise eis ‘toward and reaching the goal/purpose of’ salvation dia thru-the-realizing-channel-of trusting-relying-faith in Christ Jesus” (a), clearly defined by the immediate context (b):  “[I strongly urge you to] meno abide/remain in the things you have-already manthano ‘learned the essentials of’ and/coupled already have pistoo ‘been firmly persuaded of,’ having already [with ongoing results] eido mentally ‘seen’ to perceive/know from whom (c) you already manthano ‘learned the essentials of’, even how from infant-childhood you had already [with ongoing results] eido mentally ‘seen’ to perceive/know the sacred gramma writings (d)” – not ALL of the ‘kinds/classes/categories of’ the OT (e), but only “ta the-specific-ones that routinely/habitually are powerfully-enabling to make you wise eis ‘toward and reaching the goal/purpose of’ salvation dia thru-the-realizing-channel-of trusting-relying-faith in Christ (The Anointed One, Messiah) Jesus.”  That is the Messianic prophetic kind/class/category!

 

<Notes> a) 2 Timothy 3:15, b) v. 3:14 , c) plural: not just Paul but Timothy’s grandmother Louis and mother Eunice, per v. 2 Timothy 1:5 and Acts 16:1, but also from Paul’s “sound doctrine” he taught Timothy:  1 Timothy 1:10, 6:3; 2 Timothy 1:13, 4:3, d) plural gramma WITHOUT definite article = ‘kind/class/category of’ OT – see definition 2B of Logos Word of God – BT4, e) see Logos Word of God – BT4 and  – BT5.

 

Only the prophetic ‘kind/class/category of’ graphe scripture is what Paul NOW considers in 2 Timothy 3:16 to be “profitable for instruction/teaching,” which is learning/teaching doctrine regarding godliness (a), “profitable” in what is the “Savior’s goodness, unconditionally-loving kindness, Christ’s appearing, salvation and justification by unconditional-loving-favor-of-grace because of Christ’s works” (b), along with “devotion to God-like-good works” that “accords with godliness” (c), but certainly not involving “the unprofitable and worthless quarrels about the Law” that every bible-student/scholar of their day was regularly involved in (d). <Notes> a) 1 Timothy 4:8, b) Titus 3:8-9, c) 1 Timothy 6:3; Titus 1:1, d) 1 Timothy 1:10, 6:3; 2 Timothy 4:2; Titus 1:9, 13, 2:1.

 

This is the CONTEXT in which to understand 2 Timothy 3:16’s “pas graphe [singular] scripture,” where pas most often means, when there is NO DEFINITE ARTICLE in the [singular], as is here, to be “each/every of kind/class/category of” (a) “scripture”, that is the ‘kind/class/category of’ graphe scripture referring back to “ta these-specific-ones that routinely/habitually are powerfully-enabling to make you wise eis ‘toward and reaching the goal/purpose of’ salvation dia thru-the-realizing-channel-of trusting-relying-faith in Christ Jesus.”  Pas here in the singular WITHOUT the definite article is NOT the “composite whole/entirety” view of pas that occurs WITH the definite article of [plural] “scriptures” (b) or even [singular] “scripture,” as is here (c) – see Logos Word of God – BT5.  Greek grammarians know this but FEW English bibles make the distinction!  <Notes> a) termed the “distributed or portioned” sense, cf. James 1:2; John 12:19; Luke 16:16 – see Logos Word of God – BT7, b) Matthew 22:29; John 5:39; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, c) John 19:28; Galatians 3:22; Romans 11:2.

 

Here graphe scripture is in the [singular] WITHOUT the definite article, thus with the “distributed or portioned” sense of pas, which in Hellenistic Judaism frequently means “a book of scripture” or in the NT, “a passage of scripture” (a), so likely, Paul is simply saying “every of a portion of ‘kind/class/category of’ particularly a ‘book or passage’ of graphe scripture.”  Furthermore, it’s no coincidence that the only 4 places in the NT that [singular] graphe scripture is used WITHOUT the definite article (b) and 2 cases of the [plural] graphe scripture WITHOUT the definite article (c), it refers to prophetic writings concerning Jesus.

 

<Notes> a) Mark 12:10; John 19:37; 20:9; Acts 8:35; 1 Timothy 5:18, b) John 19:37 prophecy of Christ’s piercing at the cross; 1 Peter 2:6 prophecy of Christ’s coming; 2 Peter 1:20-21 of all prophecy of graphe scripture produced by the Holy Spirit, the breath of God ; 2 Timothy 3:16 of the specific prophetic Messianic OT verses about Christ and His New Covenant salvation by trusting-relying-faith, c) Romans 1:2 of Christ’s coming promised by The Prophets; Romans 16:26 of the gospel revelation of Christ promised by prophetic scriptures.

 

Traditionally, however, the 3 MAIN “kinds/classes/categories of” scripture are: “The Law/Torah, Pentateuch, or 5 Books of Moses (a), Prophets, and Writings,” though the NT only refers to the “Law and Prophets“(b), “Moses and Prophets” (c), and only in one place, “the Law, Prophets, and Psalms” (d).  However, the Jews also divide into 4 ‘kinds/classes/categories’ called “The Law, Prophets, Psalms, and Writings.” <Notes> a) the first 5 books of the OT, cf. Luke 24:27, b) Matthew 5:17, 7:12, 11:13, 22:40; Luke 16:16; John 1:45; Acts 13:15, 24:14, 28:23; Romans 3:21, c) Luke 16:29, 31, 24:27; Acts 26:22, d) Luke 24:44.

 

Is Moses what Christians were meant to read or have?  Moses was “The Leader–Teacher” for all Jews concerning the “earned, merited, deserved, conditional, loving-favor” of God thru the Law!  The teachers of Moses’ Law came into the Church as “false brothers secretly brought in – who slipped in to spy out our freedom [from slavery] (a) that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery (a)” (b).  However, Jesus said nobody among Christians “are to be called kathegetes ‘down-from leaders, those who bring others down the road of learning’ because ONE is your kathegete, the Christ (Anointed One)” (c) and “You in-possibility-NOT are-to-be-called rabbi (which means didaskalos teacher per John 1:38, 20:16) because ONE is the didaskalos Teacher (d) kai and/subsequently you are ALL brethren.”  <Notes> a) context: from Moses’s Law, b) Galatians 2:4, c) Matthews 23:8, cf. to Jesus as despotes unrestricted-powerful Master of Jude 1:4; epistates Jesus as Master-Head of Luke 8:45, 9:33, 17:13 – see Leaders, d) Matthew 23:10 – see Teachers.

 

Instead of the earned, merited, deserved, conditional, loving favor of God by the Law’s works of righteousness, aren’t we to “have the unearned, unmerited, undeserved, unconditional-loving-favor-of-grace of God and/coupled the free grace-gift (a) by the unconditional-loving-favor-of-grace of the One man Jesus Christ” (b)?  Furthermore, “Anyone who does absolutely-in-fact-NOT have the Spirit of Christ does absolutely-in-fact-NOT belong to Him” (c), for “as many of you as were water-baptized into Christ have put on [like fresh, clean, new clothes] Christ” (d). Only then we will “have the mind of Christ” (e), “having this mind among yourselves, which is yours [located] IN Christ (The Anointed One) Jesus” (f).  Moses’ Law and Christ’s Grace are diametrically opposed! <Notes> a) of righteousness that is through Christ’s ransom-redemption – Romans 3:24, 4:4, b) Romans 5:15, c) Romans 8:9, d) Galatians 3:27, e) 1 Corinthians 2:16, f) Philippians 2:5.

 

Finally, John warns Christians: “Everyone who routinely/habitually goes further than what is right/proper (a) and/coupled does not meno continue-to-dwell in/by/with (b) the teaching of Christ does absolutely-in-fact-NOT HAVE God, but whoever does meno abide/continue-to-dwell in/by/with (b) THIS teaching has both the Father and the Son” (c), and the context (d) of “this teaching” is that “Jesus Christ is coming (e) in the flesh,” which we know the antichrists and deceivers ridiculed, but Christians were to look forward to this to “win their full reward” (f) at Christ’s second coming (g), particularly Christ’s rewards to Christians at the Bema Seat of judgement (h). See A 11-21-2021 Vision about Meno abiding. <Notes> a) proago: either forward or backward in time, b) see Bible Info for a discussion of the preposition en with the dative case following, c) 2 John 1:9, d) v. 1:7, e) not has already come of 1 John 4:2, f) 2 John 1:8, g) 1 Thessalonians 5:23; 2 Thessalonians 2:1, h) 1 Corinthians 3:14.

 

The prophetic ‘distributive or portion of’ sense of “pas graphe scripture” in 2 Timothy 3:16 above is even clearer by the next word theopneustos.  Although this adjective is NOT used anywhere in the bible, the root verb pneo is used of the blowing of a strong wind (a) – this is associated with the noun pneuma that is the normal word for “wind, breath, Spirit.”  Pneo is even used of the Spirit blowing across the face of the waters to cause the land to appear (b), and even to giving “humans life and everything” (c).  For this reason and the following, I prefer to translate theopneustos as “Spirit-blown kind of.”  In the NT of the Holy Spirit within born-again Christians moving them where He wills (d), even that “The Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say” in their testimony of Christ (e), just like God came ‘upon or on’ the OT Prophets (f) – see Teachers – BT10, just as with God’s NT servants (g).  Paul could also have borrowed the ‘God-inspired’ idea from pre-Christian Greek writings where it refers to “divinely-inspired wisdom,” like Plato who believed “sole rulership of the divine spirit replaced human mental activity” in a prophet.  However, more likely Paul, as a Pharisee who studied under the famed Gamaliel (h), Paul is referring to Rabbinic Judaism that ‘believed’ the “Spirit rested ‘upon or on’ or sometimes ‘IN’ the Prophets, speaking through them so that their rhema words were actually from God by-the-means-of the Spirit.”  However, I couldn’t actually find any biblical evidence that the Spirit came ‘INTO’ OT prophets!  That’s the unique kainos New Covenant distinction NOW to all Christians as the grace-gift or promised Holy Spirit (i) that even started Christ’s ministry (j). In fact, the Jewish-Christian Paul speaks often of the Spirit and prophesying, making it NOW a top priority of all Christians (k).

 

<Notes> a) Matthew 7:25, 27, John 6:18; Luke 12:55; Acts 27:40; Revelation 7:1, b) Genesis 1:2, c) Job 33:4; Acts 17:25; Revelation 11:11, d) John 3:8, cf. Ezekiel 37:9, e) Luke 12:12, f) Numbers 24:2; 1 Samuel 19:20, 23; 2 Chronicles 15:1, 20:14, g) Luke 1:35, 2:25; 1 Peter 4:14, h) Acts 5:34, 22:3, i) Acts 1:8, 2:17-18 citing Joel 2:28-29, j) Matthew 12:18; Luke 4:18, k) 1 Corinthians 12:10, 13:9, 14:1, 5, 24, 31, 39.

 

Neither this theopneustos “Spirit-blown-kind-of” adjective or the next coupled (by the conjunction kai) adjective “profitable” have a verb, but too many translations insert the verbs “is” (a) as if both were “predicate adjectives” (b), as if Paul was about to prove to Jewish-Christians that “the whole/entirety of scripture [is] inspired by God and [is] profitable for teaching, etc.”  If that were the case, why didn’t Paul give us any proofs for “the whole/entirety of scripture being inspired by God?”  Based on Paul’s argumentative writing style, he sure would have!  <Notes> a) some with no indication that it is an insertion, which I believe is very deceptive, b) those that introduce additional statements.

 

In first place, why would Paul be trying to make a point that the “whole/entirety of graphe scripture IS God-breathed and-coupled-to-this IS profitable for teaching, etc”?  Wouldn’t that be stating the obvious to Timothy, a fellow Jewish-Christian, and his long-time protégé?  Isn’t that something His believing Jewish-Christian mother Eunice and grandmother Lois (a) would have clearly drilled into him to bring him to the Lord as a child?  If Paul was trying to prove to Timothy the inspiration of scripture, how come he didn’t given any proofs of this?  And Paul didn’t play off a childhood confidence of this to build another argument: “Because the whole of scripture IS inspired THEN it’s profitable for teaching, etc. . . .”.  When bible chose the least obvious path of translation, they have to find a way to get around the many problems they create as a result. <Notes> a) 2 Timothy 1:5; Acts 16:1.

 

Paul did NOT write in English to say: “All scripture IS God-breathed and/thus IS profitable for teaching.”  There is no “IS” in the Greek text that many bibles insert, often with NO indication that they have!  “God-breathed” and “profitable” are both adjectives, but then they say, “They must BOTH be predicate adjectives acting as direct-objects of verbs that here don’t exist, thus justifying the insertion of “IS.”  They argue that Paul has done this before in 1 Timothy 4:4 where he argues against following the Jewish food Laws as Christians:  “For the reason is:  every created-thing (noun) of/belonging-to God [IS] kalos ‘a beautifully-attractive good that inspires/motivates other to also embrace what beautiful & praiseworthy’ (an adjective without the definite article) and/thus [by parallel structure:] absolutely-in-fact-NO thing (noun) [IS] apobletos ‘a to-be-thrown-away, rejected, and despised as an abominable, unclean thing’ (an adjective without the definite article), [but] routinely/habitually being lambano ‘grabbed hold of to receive’ (present participle) meta ‘with, but as a result of being changed by being in close proximity with’ thanksgiving.”  The present participle phrase explains why “absolutely-in-fact-NO thing [IS] apobletos ‘a to-be-thrown-away, rejected, and despised as an abominable, unclean thing’ [of thing].”  However, just because it makes sense here to insert [IS] in both cases in their precious letter to Timothy, we simply are NOT forced to in 2 Timothy 3:16 to do the same.  You can’t use just 1 case to force another case.  This again is the fallacy of a “proof-text” to create a doctrine!

 

No, Paul simply started with theopneustos “Spirit-blown-kind-of” as an “attributive adjective, which is directly adjacent to the noun it modifies,” in Greek placed behind it, just as Paul often does, thus the prophetic ‘kind/class/category’ in the ‘distributive or portion of sense’ “of sacred gramma writings” from v. 3:15 that Timothy already used in his childhood, and even more specifically “ta ‘specifically the ones’ routinely/habitually powerfully-enabled to make him wise eis ‘toward and reaching the goal/purpose of’ salvation dia ‘thru the realizing channel of’ trusting-relying-faith, tes ‘the specific one’ IN Christ Jesus.”

 

Many Greek scholars agree this first adjective theopneustos “Spirit-blown-kind-of” is indeed “attributive” (a).  One reason is that anarthrous (b) adjectives, like theopneustos “Spirit-blown-kind-of” always show up immediately after the noun they modify (here “graphe scripture”), thus according to Vincent’s Word Studies (c) should be translated “every divinely-inspired scripture.”  I would better translate “each/every Spirit-blown-kind-of graphe scripture.” <Notes> a) see franknelte.net/article 281, b) i.e., without an article, c) and other scholars Adam Clarke, Henry Alford, Daniel Mace.

 

 

 

Furthermore, the conjunction kai between theopneustos “Spirit-blown-kind-of” and the next adjective “profitable” in 2 Timothy 3:16 is omitted in Old-Latin, Clementine Vulgate, Syrian Peshitta, and many of the Church Fathers. The Greek scholar Daniel Mace’s in his NT of 1729 didn’t include “and” either in his translation. The Greek scholar Adam Clark (1760-1832) stated that “kai is omitted by almost all the versions and many of the fathers, and certainly does not agree well with the text.” Henry Alford (1810-1871) though he “nevertheless acknowledged that the presence of kai in this verse is an awkward one, which really deprives the sentence of symmetry.”  So much effort has been made to force kai to mean “and” to couple “[is] inspired and [is] profitable” together and force them to both be predicate adjectives.

 

This is unnecessary because kai has other meanings “still, besides, also, moreover, likewise, even, indeed, namely, specifically” (a) that could just as easily apply. Based on the context, Paul probably meant: “Pas ‘every/each kind/class/category of’ graphe scripture, [the] Spirit-blown-kind-of (prophetic logion ‘oracles/utterances of God’), kai indeed/specifically [the ones that ARE] profitable for teaching, etc.,” where the first adjective theopneustos “Spirit-blown-kind-of” is normally attributive (descriptive), but the second adjective “profitable” would normally be a predicate adjective to supply the verb for the rest of the phrase after kai in order to make sense. You have to understand that Greek words have multiple meanings and you have to use the meaning that normally fits the context!  The context is emphasizing that for Timothy, the “man of God” evangelist-preacher under Paul’s tutelage, the Messianic prophetic scriptures that helped convert him to Christ are indeed/specifically the ones he can also use to do the same for other fellow Jews. <Notes> a) http://biblehub.com/greek/2532.htm, b) http://biblehub.com/greek/2532.htm.

 

Even if you believe the arguments for both adjectives being predicative adjectives “[is] inspired and/coupled [is] profitable” to justify adding “is” in BOTH cases, the vocabulary and contextual reasons stated above and below STILL overwhelmingly indicate the meaning of “pas graphe scripture” refers ONLY to ‘each/every of a kind/class/category’ of graphe scripture, which in context are STILL only the prophetic ones that led Timothy as a child to trusting-relying-faith in Christ Jesus for salvation. These are certainly “Spirit-blown-kind-of” and “indeed profitable” for the things that Paul will now talk about to Jewish audiences!  Whatever your understanding of Greek, the context makes it clear what Paul’s logos message to Timothy is. Never build a doctrine on one verse anyway, and certainly not by taking it out of context!  For many more details, see Logos Word of God – BT7.

 

Now Paul says to the Jewish Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:16 it’s also “profitable . . . for reproof (a), for epanorthosis correction (b), and for child-like-training (c), which is the way God gentle trains us to reject godless ways (d), in order to share in God’s holiness (e).  Paul continues: “profitable . . . for child-like training in righteousness so that the man of God (f) may be complete, that is, equipped for every God-like-good work” (g). In context, this is specifically Timothy’s “work of preaching or evangelism of the gospel logos message” (h), in which Timothy was grace-gifted by the Holy Spirit to do (i). This was specifically written to Timothy as a evangelist-pastor-in-training, working with Jews to convert them to Christ, just as Paul routinely used OT prophecies to do, but here also equipping Timothy to argue against false teachers just like Paul also had to do, many who were Jewish teachers of the Law infiltrating the churches (j), even disguised as Christians (k).

 

<Notes> a) context: patiently yet sharply refute and rebuke false Gentile but mostly Jewish teachers, cf. Titus 1:9, 13-14, 2:15; 2 Timothy 4:2, b) restoration/straightened to uprightness or proper condition, especially of wavering Jewish-Christians, cf. Hebrews 12:12; 2 Timothy 4:2, c) paideia: child-rearing education: Ephesians 6:4, or corrective-training: Hebrews 12:5, 7-8, 11-12; 2 Timothy 2:25, d) Titus 2:12, e) Hebrews 2:10, 12:6, 7, 10; 1 Corinthians 11:32, f) this is specifically Timothy: 1 Timothy 6:11, g) 2 Timothy 2:21; Titus 3:1; of women: 1 Timothy 2:10, 5:10, h) 2 Timothy 4:5; 2 Corinthians 10:16; Philippians 4:3, i) 1 Timothy 4:14; 2 Timothy 1:6, j) 1 Timothy 1:3-4, 6-7, 4:7, 6:20; 2 Timothy 2:14, 16, 23; Titus 1:11, 3:2, 9, k) Galatians 2:4

 

OT prophecy about Christ and His kingdom’s gospel logos message is pretty much ALL the NT writers EVER used of the OT:  John says the gospel “Testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy” (a), and that same Spirit of Christ is WHO spoke through the OT prophets!  That’s exactly what Paul reminds his Jewish readers of:  “The gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy graphe scriptures” (b).  However, Peter, being the apostle to the Jews, appeals the most to the prophetic aspect of the graphe scripture to prove his gospel logos message of The Truth: “We have the prophetic logos message [of the OT scriptures] more fully confirmed, to which you (Jewish readers) will do well to pay attention . . . knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of/belonging-to graphe scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation.  For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (c).  It simply goes beyond the text to extrapolate these statements to something other that ‘the prophetic ‘kind/class/category’ of graphe scripture.  <Notes> a) Revelation 19:10, b) Romans 1:1-2, c) 2 Peter 1:19-2.

 

Paul often cites from the prophetic kind/class/category of’ scripture to prove the Messiah and His gospel logos message, specifically to stubborn or wavering Jews and Jewish-Christians (a). Similarly, the book of Hebrews quotes the OT extensively (b) simply to prove to Jewish-Christians in 63-64 AD, who respected their Jewish “fathers that God spoke to BY THE PROPHETS” (c) but who had been converted to Christ by the stoicheion “rudimentary ‘abc’ fundamentals of the prophetic logion oracles/utterances of God” (d), “corrected/straightened/restored to proper condition” to no longer listen to the teachers of the Law that taught “righteousness by works of the Law” (e). That’s because the completely-different-in-kind New Covenant replaces it with “righteousness that is by trusting-relying-faith” (f), a “kreitton ‘more useful, serviceable, helpful, better’ Covenant” (g), being that “Christ’s ministry is so much more excellent than the old [of Moses] as the Covenant He mediates is kreitton ‘more useful, serviceable, helpful, better‘ . . . enacted on kreitton ‘more useful, serviceable, helpful, better‘ promises, for if the first covenant had been amemptos ‘NOT faulted, blameworthy, rejectable, condemnable’ there would absolutely-in-fact-NOT have-been a place/reason for a second [covenant] (h), for “He is the mediator of a completely-different-in-kind New Covenant . . . redeeming them from the sins committed under the first covenant” (i).

 

<Notes> a) Romans 1:2, 4:3, 9:17, 10:11, 11:2, 15:4; 1 Corinthians 15:3, 4; Galatians 3:8, 4:30; 1 Timothy 5:18, b) 1:5-13, 2:6-8, 12-13, 3:7-11, 15, 4:5-6, 7:17, 21, 8:8-12, 10:5-7, 15-17, 37-38, 12:5-6, 13:6, c) Hebrews 1:1, d) Hebrews 5:12; Romans 3:2; Acts 7:38; 1 Peter 4:11, e) Romans 4:6, 10:5; Titus 3:5; Galatians 3:21, f) Hebrews 10:38, 11:4, 7, g) Hebrews 7:22, h) Hebrews 8:6-7, i) Hebrews 9:15, cf. 12:24.

 

“It is the directly-spoken/heard prophetic rhema words of the holy prophets and the entole universally-binding commandment of the Lord and Savior through His apostles (The Great Commission to preach until Christ’s return)   . . . that scoffers in ‘the last days’ will come scoffing, following their own sinful desires, saying ‘Where is the promise of His coming” (a)?  Peter also refers to the “prophets who prophesied about the unconditional-loving-favor-of-grace that was to be ours, this concerning your salvation” (b).  It was this same Spirit-filled Peter that reminded 3000-plus Jews on the Day of Pentecost, the beginning of “the last days” or Church age in Acts 2:16-18 of the OT prophecy of Joel 2:28-32 to explain God’s completely-different-in-kind New Way of communicating to ALL His people under the completely-different-in-kind New Covenant – not to just a few “special” leaders in the OT period but to “ALL of God’s men and women servants,” absolutely not through gramma writings collected into graphe scripture taught by a few “special” leaders, but directly through prophetic words, visions, and dreams NOW “taught by God” (c).  There simply is no mention of using any of the old “trappings” of the Jewish religion.  God has gone direct!  God restored His Perfect Plan A for direct-teaching of Exodus 20:18-21 cited in Hebrews 12:18-21, 25 that disobedient Jews originally rejected, resulting in gramma writings as graphe scripture.  <Notes> a) 2 Peter 3:2-4, b) 1 Peter 1:10, c) John 6:45; 1 Thessalonians 4:9 both citing Isaiah 54:13, cf. Jeremiah 31:34 cited by Hebrews 8:10.

 

In fact, Clement of Rome from 92-99 AD quotes the OT graphe scripture ONLY to support the Christian’s resurrection of the dead, to support a Christian’s virtuous life, to use Messianic prophecies, and to use typology (anti-types and types) to support specific Christian doctrines.  Clement of Rome around 88-99 AD, Ignatius of Antioch (35-108AD), and Polycarp (69-155 AD) looked at Jesus as being the completed fulfillment of the OT graphe scriptures and thus had little need for them.

 

The Law ‘kind/class/category’ of graphe scripture is absolutely NOT meant for Christians to use, certainly NOT Gentiles, for to do so would then be “unlawful” – see Logos Word of God – BT8. That’s what Paul said in 1 Timothy 1:8-11 in his accusation against the teachers of the Law who were inflicting this on Christians!  The Law was intended by God “for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane.”

 

However, the NT says Christians are NOW considered by God to be the opposite of ALL of this, even to be: “free from the Law” (a), “dead to the Law” (b), “released from the Law . . . so now we serve/minister by-the-means-of the completely-different-in-kind kainotes New (c) Way of the Spirit and absolutely-in-fact-NOT by-the-means-of the palaiotes ‘old, antiquated, worn-out, useless Way’ of/belonging-to [singular] gramma writing” (d), “set free in Christ Jesus from the Law of sin and death” (e), “written no longer on tablets of stone (or ink). . . ministers of/belonging-to completely-different-in-kind kainos New (c) Covenant, absolutely-in-fact-NOT of/belonging-to the gramma writing but-instead of/belonging-to the Spirit, for the gramma writing kills but the Spirit gives zoe genuine-life” (f). Christians are NOW God’s hand-writings – see Logos Word of God – BT20.  <Notes> a) Romans 8:2, b) Galatians 2:19, c) chadash, kainos: fresh, completely-different-in-kind, unprecedented, sharing nothing with its predecessors, unique, and superior, d) Romans 7:6, e) Romans 8:2, f) 2 Corinthians 3:3-6.

 

How could Paul include the Law in the ‘kind/class/category of’ graphe scripture . . . [that] is profitable for teaching, etc.” in 2 Timothy 3:16, when so many negative things were written about the Law – see Logos Word of God – BT8, even if the Law promised “wisdom and understanding” (a)?  For example, the Law: “was only UNTIL John, but since then the gospel“; has been stamped “null and void” or nullified; its “way of serving God is old and worn out”; is filled to completion, accomplished, ended, or finished by Christ, and thus has faded, vanished, and passed away; has been abolished since Christ fulfilled it; has been set aside because of its weakness and uselessness; Christ has does away with it violently or has put it to death . . . in order to establish the second Covenant; is no longer binding since we have died to it and thus no longer under it; that there is now no such Law for those who live by the Holy Spirit; was added originally by God only as a schoolmaster/escort service, prison-guard, or household-manager to protect the Jews [as if ‘little children‘] only UNTIL the coming of Christ; that the Law’s regulations to control indulgence are “elementary or rudimentary ‘abc’ fundamental principles” given to the Jews as infantile “milk” only to lead them to the person of Christ; the Law’s rules are actually powerless (of no value) in curbing the flesh as compared to the “solid food” of the Holy Spirit’s discernment of good and evil – see New Covenant Ways – BT16; that the reading of Moses continues to this day to cover the hearts of the hearers with a veil that blinds, separates, and hardens them from the glory of God in Christ Jesus.  <Notes> a) Psalms 110:10, 119:98; Deuteronomy 4:6; Job 28:28; Proverbs 1:7, 9:10.

 

Furthermore, the “teachers of the Law” were not permitted to teach in the early Church and so were referred to as “false teachers or Judaizers or of the Circumcision Party”; that ALL scripture (including the Law) were simply shadows, copies, symbols, corresponding types, and prefigures of things to come, but the real “body” that casts a shadow backwards into the OT scripture is Christ and His New Covenant’s promised Holy Spirit; the Law is of sin and death; is weakened by the flesh; makes sin known to us and shows sin to be sin; through the commandment sin might become sinful beyond measure; holds us as captive slaves and controls us; The scripture imprisons ALL of us under sin; the Law arouses our sinful passions; the Law is the enabling-power of sin; the Law is the reason sin comes alive in us; Personified sin uses the Law to produce all kinds of sin in us; the Law multiplies sin; it condemns us; it kills us; it brings wrath and death; by it no one is justified; doing of one commandment of the Law commits us to doing it all, bringing a curse upon ourselves; the Law only promises merited, earned, deserved conditional, loving-favor from God that is the opposite of unmerited, unearned, undeserved, unconditional-loving-favor-of-grace so that any attempts at the doing of the Law causes us to fall from unconditional-loving-favor-of-grace, causing us to be severed from Christ; the Law is absolutely not of trusting-relying-faith in Christ that alone saves; and the Law made nothing perfect, so it absolutely won’t perfect us.

 

So Christians who keep reading, studying, trying to do, and teach the Law are using the Law just like these teachers of the Law did – “unlawfully” by judging themselves and others based on obedience to commandments (a), forbidding marriage (b) and requiring special foods (c), drinks (d), ceremonial washings (e), body regulations (f), debating/quarreling over the Law (g) as if it were a WAY to latreuo worship-serve God (h), even by celebrating certain festival, new moons, and Sabbaths – “these are [ALL] a skia ‘shadow, outline, sketch’ of the things that routinely/habitually mello ‘were about to happen,’ yet the soma BODY of/belongs-to the Christ (The Anointed One)” (i).  Paul would scream at the modern church’s embracing of Jewish traditions! <Notes> a) Colossians 2:16, b) sounds like the Catholic priesthood, c) 1 Timothy 4:3; Hebrews 9:10, 13:9, d) Hebrews 9:10; Romans 14:17, 21, e) Hebrews 6:2, 9:10; Mark 7:4, f) Hebrew 9:10, g) Titus 3:9-10, h) 1 Timothy 6:4; 2 Timothy 2:14, 23; 1 Corinthians 1:20, i) Colossians 2:16-17.

 

Why in the world are Gentile-Christians today trying to use 2 Timothy 3:16 to teach all Christians everywhere to use ALL ‘kinds/classes/categories of’ the OT for their own spiritual growth?  Again Paul would scream! Talk about “twisting/distorting” a verse as Peter warned in 2 Peter 3:16 of to create a doctrine by taking it out of context!  Many of Paul’s letters were attempts to undo the damage down by Jewish teachers of the Law and the Traditions of the Elders.  Paul wrote volumes about not using the ‘kind/class/category of’ the OT that contains the “commandments of the Law,” so he certainly wouldn’t be advising Timothy to use the Law!  NO!  “The logos message I taught to you” is what they were “to hold fast to” and this is the “gospel I preached to you, which you welcomed, in which you now stand, and by which you are being saved” (a).  How can so much of the Church be so confused?  95% of the sermons I’ve heard in 15 churches I’ve served in had nothing to do with Christ or His gospel’s logos message, and many times they focused more on OT scriptures (b) instead of the BODY’s reality, substance, or true form expressed in the NT writings!  Talk about no Holy Spirit guidance! <Notes> a) 1 Corinthians 15:1-2, b) the shadows, copies, symbols, types, corresponding figures.

 

Reflections:

 

As Christian musicians, if the early Church greatly limited OT usage to mostly prophetic passages to convert Jews to Christ, because they understood Christ had completed the ‘old’ revelation of God’s will to mankind, particularly to the Jews, why do we use it “willy-nilly” in our personal Christian lives and for ministry to mostly Gentile people?  Are we being as careful to look at only 2.6% of the OT, or we falling into the “snare, trap, and retribution” – see New Covenant Ways – BT17 – of the other 97.4% that “imprisons and kills us?”  Are we unaware that what is “fulfilled to completion and ended is also nullified, so that we can die to it and be freed from its yoke of slavery?”  Are we also being deceived by false teachers to “turn back to such weak and worthless ‘abc’ fundamentals to become enslaved once again?”  Shouldn’t we heed the warnings not to and instead embrace “the promised grace-gift of the Holy Spirit given for these last days, so that “we ALL will prophecy” and to “zealously pursue this grace-gift of prophecy more than any other,” instead of just reading about a few people who did this 2000-3500 years ago?

 

Prayer:

 

 

Lord, give us faith to “let go” of the palaios ‘old, antiquated, worn-out, weak, useless, worthless’ covenant writings, especially the Law that bound us, and move us forward into these later years of the “last days” to instead focus our attention and desire on the “promised grace-gift of the Holy Spirit and the way You want to speak to us ALL NOW – prophetically, even through visions and dreams.  Keep us from being captured by the “snare, trap, and retribution” that studying the scriptures became to the Jewish bible students, such that they were blind to see that they simply “testify all-around You.”  Lord, keep us from “majoring in the minors” by getting bogged down in ‘words ABOUT You’ instead of NOW simply “coming to You as little children, for such is the kingdom, and to them You un-hide the secrets of the kingdom but keep them hidden from the ‘so-called’ wise and understanding ones.”  We want “the words FROM You!”  We want to be “taught by God” just as You promised, to have the “anointing so that we absolutely-in-fact have NO need that any man teach us.”  This is what we NOW expect!

 

 

 

 

 

Spiritual Education, 97.4% of the Old Testament graphe scripture is Law-based, Early Church only used only 2.6% that was Prophetic about the Messiah, Most of the New Testament directed to Jews or specific problems, Know your audience, Text without a Context is a Pretext for a Proof-text, 2 Timothy 3:16 ALL scripture is profitable for teaching is a BAD translation, Greek & context teaches the Spirit-blown Messianic prophecies is profitable to convert Jews, We no longer follow Moses but follow Jesus, Christ’s Spirit is NOW our ONE Teacher, Moses’ Law and Christ’s Grace are diametrically opposed, Early Church did NOT use the Law portion of scripture, Early Church rejected Law-teachers, It’s unlawful to use the Law for Christians, 2 Timothy 3:16 ALL scripture is profitable for teaching is a BAD translation, ALL New Testament references to the Old are mostly Prophecy references, earliest Church writings before 155 AD show very limited use of the Old Testament, Paul would never use the Old Testament when preaching to Gentiles