"Panta graphEs" is the phrase the Holy Apostle Paul uses. It means "all writings". The canon of Scripture was not fixed at that time, so it is a little odd to apply the phrase to the canon as later fixed by the Council of Carthage, and the 4th and 6th Ecumenical Councils (and shortened by Luther in imitation of the Christ-denying rabbis of the Council of Jamnia) to argue that the collection of books the Church canonized to be read in churches is the basis for the Church's way of life. A way of life that was well established by the time the last authored book, the Revelation to St. John, was written, and centuries before a decision was taken as to which books constituted Scripture.
The Revelation to St. John is contemporaneous (c. 96 AD) with St. Ignatius of Antioch's epistles (St. Ignatius' martyrdom is traditionally dated at 107 AD, but some scholars argue that it may have been as early as 98 AD). St. Ignatius' letters speak of the order of the Church and its liturgical life in a manner familiar to Orthodox Christians, as we continue the same life, albeit with the shorter Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom as the standard, and to Latin Christians, though post-Vatican II the similarity between their life and that of the ancient Church is less pronounced. And the letters speak of it as a well-established way of life, of Apostolic origin, not something being invented or discovered at the time.
In point of fact, when the Holy Apostle used the phrase, any Jew or Christian of Jewish heritage would have taken the phrase to mean the Law and the Prophets. One meets Christ in these writings, but only in prophecies and types.
I am reminded of a story from old Russia. A man had been seized by the atheism that was creeping into the intellectual classes even before the Revolution, and went to an old staretz. The man was distressed by his unbelief, and declared to the elder that he wanted to believe, but couldn't.
The elder did not send him to read the Scriptures, but gave him an icon of Christ, and bade him do 100 prostrations a day before the icon, and return in a year. The man returned a year later, joyous that he had found faith in Christ.
Indeed Our Savior is the pearl beyond price. The Scriptures are merely our primary testimony to Him.
TRD,
Thanks for the time you put into your thoughtful response.
Unfortunately, I find myself in disagreement with the argument that the scriptures are "merely our primary testimony of Him". They reveal Him. They reveal the true words he spoke. They delineate how to place faith in Him. And on and on. They are not merely the primary source. They are THE source of instruction for what must a man do to be saved.
You will search the scriptures in vain to find instructions to bow before man made images of God as a way of salvation. This is simply a tradition of man.
As to Paul's words... I learned Greek in seminar, so I do understand the meaning of the words used. Though anyone can use the good tools today that make the original languages accessible. The NT canon was not formed when Paul wrote these words - agreed. But Peter obviously was familiar with Paul's writings - so there were revealed books in circulation as letters to the Churches. There is nothing in Paul's words that limits them to just the Hebrew scriptures. Paul himself knew he was writing under the inspiration of God. It would be self-defeating to argue that he didn't include those inspired words.
Thankfully, we can agree that Jesus Christ is the Pearl of Great Price!
blessings to you,
ampu