I think the question has to do with this: Paul said that Jesus said this particular phrase. Since Paul was not present with Jesus on Earth, but converted later, how did Paul know that Jesus said this?
Some things to keep in mind while discussing this:
Even if the phrase were in the gospels, that wouldn’t help, as the gospels were written later than Paul’s epistles, if I’m not mistaken. The gospels are placed first in the New Testament because Catholic bishops said they would be placed there in that order. The books of the New Testament are not chronological in terms of authorship, they are chronological in terms of the Christian story that the Catholic Church was attempting to portray when they compiled the NT.
In the end, I think it speaks highly of the oral side of revealed Tradition. Remember, when Paul was writing, there was not the inkling of an idea that there would ever be a “New Testament.” Everything that was happening was by word of mouth and letters to the Churches. Jesus never said to add anything to Sacred Scripture, and Paul certainly had no idea he was doing it.
I believe Paul knew Jesus said this phrase, because someone told him. And Paul is to be believed because the council of Rome, the council of Carthage, the council of Hippo, and the council of Trent all say he is to be believed–and remarkably, he is to be believed in the same way that the “Old Testament,” the collection of books Jesus referred to as “scripture” is to be believed.
We believe the New Testament is Sacred Scripture, because the Catholic Church says that it is. That is not to say that the Catholic Church “made” it Scripture, as if it were not Scripture and the Catholic Church made it so by fiat. Rather, the power of the Holy Spirit caused them to recognize and declare that it already was! How remarkable is the power of Christ’s One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church!
Hope these little nuggets help, in terms of the fruitfulness of this thread.
