Did the writers of the New Testament regard their writings as Scripture?

Answer

Second Timothy 3:16-17 asserts that “all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” It is evident that the early church considered the Old Testament as inspired Scripture. As 2 Peter 1:20-21 clarifies, “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

But can this principle be equally applied to the writings found in the New Testament? Were the authors of the New Testament aware of the scriptural nature of their letters? While this cannot be definitively proven, there is a compelling argument to suggest that they were. In 2 Peter 3:15-16, Peter states, “Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable men distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their destruction” (emphasis added). Clearly, Peter considered Paul’s writings as inspired Scripture.

Another indication that the authors of the New Testament recognized their writings as Scripture is found in 1 Timothy 5:18, where it is stated, “For the Scripture says, ‘Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain,’ and ‘the worker deserves his wages’” (emphasis added). While the first quote is from the book of Deuteronomy 25:4, the second is from the Gospel of Luke 10:7. It is evident that Luke’s writings are being seen as having similar authoritative value to the Pentateuch. Luke’s writings are also referred to as “Scripture” here.

In conclusion, there are strong reasons to believe that the New Testament writers understood their writings to be Scripture.

It is evident that the authors of the New Testament regarded each other’s texts as sacred Scripture, directly inspired by God – “and beneficial for instruction, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness, so that the person of God may be fully prepared for every good deed” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).