If anyone teaches a different doctrine, and doesn't consent to sound words, the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness,
even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ: The words of Jesus Christ are wholesome words that should be accepted by all whose desire is to please Him. It would be a huge error to exclude Jesus’ words in a study of the New Testament by saying they were spoken prior to the cross. Furthermore, it would be wrong not to recognize that the authority of Jesus Christ is expressed by more than the words He spoke while on earth. All of the teachings of Christ while on earth, before the cross as well as after it, as well as words penned by the New Testament writers through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, are included (John 14:25-26; John 16:12-13). Fairbairn explains that "the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ" do not necessarily mean those spoken by him directly but "such as bear upon them the stamp of His authority" along with His own, including those of His divinely commissioned apostles and evangelists (233). Truth is determined by the authority of Jesus Christ and by the words inspired by the Holy Spirit, not by the intellect of man (see also Matthew 7:29; Matthew 15:9; Matthew 17:5.)