<P> By the end of the 1st century, some letters of Paul were known to Clement of Rome (fl. 96), together with some form of the "words of Jesus"; but while Clement valued these highly, he did not regard them as "Scripture" ("graphe"), a term he reserved for the Septuagint . Metzger 1987 draws the following conclusion about Clement: </P> <P> Clement...makes occasional reference to certain words of Jesus; though they are authoritative for him, he does not appear to enquire how their authenticity is ensured . In two of the three instances that he speaks of remembering' the words' of Christ or of the Lord Jesus, it seems that he has a written record in mind, but he does not call it a' gospel' . He knows several of Paul's epistles, and values them highly for their content; the same can be said of the Epistle to the Hebrews, with which he is well acquainted . Although these writings obviously possess for Clement considerable significance, he never refers to them as authoritative' Scripture' . </P> <P> Within the New Testament itself, there is reference to at least some of the works of Paul as Scripture. 2 Peter 3: 16 says: </P> <P> He (Paul) 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 people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction . </P>

When was the nt canon closed from a divine perspective