The Canon of Scripture

By:  Anonymous Author

The Bible is not an ordinary book composed by a gifted author in a couple of years. It is not the work of a brainstorming saint. Rather, it is God’s Word which He communicated to man over a period of 1600 years. It contains 66 individual books and was written by approximately 40 different human authors. This ancient Jewish book is the Word of God.

Since the beginning of the church at Pentecost, the church has faced many challenges and doctrinal errors. The church has had to affirm and make official statements regarding the doctrine of the true nature of Christ and that salvation is by faith alone without works. During the 20^th century, the Protestant church has faced four major controversies: (1) the historicity of the Bible and the validity of its teachings, (2) neo-evangelicalism, or the desire to compromise fundamentalism with liberal theology, (3) the Charismatic movement, and (4) the translation controversy of the Bible. Two of the four key issues the Church faced during the 20^th century relate to the Bible and accepting its accuracy. These issues have not dissipated with the advent of the 21^st century. Rather, as the church enters the 21^st century, the stakes have been raised. The inerrancy of the Bible is now also being questioned by those who profess to be evangelical. To combat this wave of liberal thinking, a proper understating of the Bible and its history is essential for every Christian in the 21^st century.

The English word “canon” traces its roots back to a Greek word kanon, the root of which means reed or measuring rod. The word was used by early church fathers to indicate a rule of faith or standard. This is appropriate use of the word for the Bible, considering that Scripture is the rule of faith and practice for living. Thus the canon of Scripture is the list of books which are considered authoritative for belief and actions. Furthermore, the inspiration of a book is the standard or measuring rod of whether it is canonical. By definition, the canon is “that group of books which comprises the totality of the inspired, inscripturated Word of God.” The books included in the canon are not authoritative because of their inclusion in a list. Rather, they were included in the canon because of their authority.  “The Bible, therefore, is an authoritative collection of authoritative books.” The question then arises as to what criteria were used to determine whether a book was authoritative. What standard was used to determine if a book was inspired or merely the work of a human author? Also, how many books are canonical? Does the Bible of the 21^st century contain all of God’s Word or will archeologist discover further canonical writings? These are questions that the 21^st century Christian must be prepared to answer.

The Word of God was given to the people of God, and then the Holy Spirit showed His people what His Word was. Since God inspired the books, it is consistent that He “followed-up” and revealed to man the books which were supernatural. Obviously, both Israel and the early church used certain criteria in judging which books to accept, but viewing this selection process as purely naturalistic demonstrates a very inadequate understanding of the process. The selection criteria will be discussed in more detail at a later time. Ultimately, the process of canonization comes down to deciding which books belong, not which books are wanted. God determined which books were canonical, and man merely recognized what God had previously determined. The canonization of the Old and New Testaments happened at different times and will be dealt with separately.

The Old Testament

The Old Testament canon was completed around 400 BC. Since inspiration is the measure of canonicity, human recognition is not necessary or required to identify the completion of the canon. The cessation of the prophetic gift marked the last of the inspired books (Malachi) approximately 400 years before Christ. The collection of the Old Testament books can be seen as a four step process: (1) God directed men to write the books, which lasted over a period of about 1000 years, (2) Israel recognized the divine origin of God’s inspired writings, (3) the recognized writings were left with the priests for copying and safe keeping, and (4) the books were ultimately accepted as Scripture.

Jesus attested that the entire Old Testament was the Word of God in Luke 24:44 when He spoke of those things “which were written in the Law of Moses, and in the Prophets, and in the Psalms, concerning Me” (KJV). However, Jesus and the New Testament writers more commonly referred to the Old Testament in two divisions, the Law and the Prophets. This common division of the Old Testament writings effectively answers many questions and explains the facts. Further, this division displaces the idea that the Old Testament canon grew in three stages.

Liberal critics have presented many objections to the traditional acceptance of the Old Testament canon. One of these naturalistic assertions is that the canon grew in three stages. They claim that the Pentateuch was venerated by about 400 BC, followed by the Prophets between 400-200 BC, and finally by the canonization of the Writings no earlier than 200 BC. That there was a general threefold classification is clear, but there is no emphasis that this structure was rigid or that it constrained the placement of books into one division or another. An apocryphal book, Ecclesiasticus, is a witness to three divisions. However, Dead Sea literature, which is contemporaneous to Ecclesasticus, refers to the same Old Testament in only two divisions. Thus multiple divisions of the Old Testament do not show that the canon evolved in steps but instead that the divisions were not rigid. “The alleged three steps of canonization [do] not agree with the dates of authorship, but only with dates of acceptance.” The idea that Psalms used in worship during the time of Solomon’s Temple were excluded from Scripture in 400 BC is ludicrous. The ancient Jews believed that the Great Synagogue of Ezra arranged the final order of the Old Testament around 400 BC, and they would be in a much better position to make an informed decision than any scholar alive today. Ezra recognized which books were canonical, but in no manner did he canonize them or make them canonical.

Critics cite the synod of Jamnia in 90 AD for when the Old Testament canon was finalized. However, several points must be made regarding this assertion. (1) Very little is known about what actually took place at Jamnia. From what little is know, the focus was to address which books were to be removed from the canon, not declare which books were canonical The canon had long since been established and accepted. (2) The synod was merely confirming public opinion. They were not creating a canon but formally recognizing the canon that had been revered as divinely inspired. (3) The final outcome of the debate was the firm acknowledgement of the Old Testament canon.

The final claim of critics to be discussed is that all ancient writings were revered as sacred. However, the facts clearly oppose these theories. Samuel wrote a book detailing the responsibilities of the king and his authority. Despite the importance of this book to that era, it was not canonical and was not persevered. The Apocrypha, which were written between 200-50 BC, were not revered by the Jews of Palestine which revered the Old Testament.

The Apocrypha are not accepted as scripture by any early scholars. They were not accepted by the Jews or early church fathers as divine. The scholars at Qumran, who were well acquainted with the Apocrypha, did not consider it authoritative and never listed it among inspired writings. Josephus, the secular historian from the time of Christ, did not attach divine authority to the Apocrypha. Origen, one of the greatest Biblical Greek fathers, lists the Maccabees as separate from his list of the canonical Old Testament. Additionally, the Apocrypha was never recognized by Christ or the apostles as being inspired. The conclusion came be made that the Holy Spirit did not lead His people to accept the Apocrypha. No real debate regarding the Apocrypha transpired until 400 AD, when a dispute arose between Augustine and Jerome. Jerome, who translated the Vulgate, did not want to include the Apocrypha in his translation. He eventually gave in to the pressure, however, and translated a few of the Apocryphal books. In the 1500’s, the Reformers made a clear distinction between the Apocrypha and the canon. In retaliation at the council of Trent of 1546, the Roman Catholic Church removed all distinction between the Apocrypha and the rest of the canon.

To summarize, the Old Testament canon should be accepted for the following reasons. (1) The books claim divine authority. (2) They were written by men recognized as prophets. (3) The message is consistent among all the books. (4) They speak with the power of God. (5) They were immediately accepted as inspired by God’s people. (6) Jesus and the apostles attest to their authority. All of these reasons are compelling, but for Christians, the acceptance by Christ and His apostles should be sufficient.

The New Testament

A lecturer once claimed that the Old Testament was more authoritative than the New since it was credited by Christ. However, even if it is less immediately apparent, Christ prospectively accredited the New Testament. In John 14 and 16, Christ promised to send the disciples the Holy Spirit, who would teach them all things.

The New Testament in its present form consists of twenty-seven books. Internal and external evidence attests to the fact that all these books were in existence by the beginning of the second century. Christians must keep in mind that the early church did not canonize the New Testament any more than Israel made the Old Testament canonical. Just like the Old Testament, the New Testament had a distinct process of collection which lasted for about 300 years. (1) The books were written by God’s direction during the first century AD, (2) the early churches copied and circulated the books, and (3) church councils formally recognized the list of 27 New Testament books.

Until the middle of the first century, there was no apparent need for a written Gospel. However, as the eyewitnesses of Christ were not going to live on this earth forever, a formal written record was needed. The earliest books were letters written by the apostles, followed by the gospels and Acts. As early as the end of the first century, a collection of these writings was already beginning. By the middle of the second century, the bulk of the New Testament writings were already known and in use as profitable. The epistle of Barnabas, although not part of scripture, is of particular interest. Written around 150 AD, it is the earliest know writing which quotes from the New Testament, particularly Matthew and possibly also I and II Timothy.

In 367 AD, Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, was the first formal source to list the exact same 27 books as found in today’s New Testament. The only difference was a variation in the order of the books. The council of Laodicea in 363 would have been the first except for the fact that they excluded the book of Revelation. The Councils of Damascus in 382 AD and Hippo in 393 AD recognized all 27 books of the New Testament. Jerome’s Latin Vulgate, which was finished in 383 AD, was possibly the voice which settled the question of the existing New Testament canon. However, just like the synod of Jamnia with the Old Testament, by the time of the pronouncements of the church councils, “the canon was pretty well fixed by general usage in the church.” It is vital to recognize that the church councils “did not create the canon, but [merely] recognized and ratified that which was in common use, settling the canon for a thousand years.”

The Holy Spirit directed the selection of the canon, but certain criteria was used first by Israel and later by the church fathers to determine whether a book was inspired. No evidence exists that a council was used to establish the canonicity of a book. The rabbis of Jamnia appealed to a decision by previous rabbis when excluding Ecclesiastes from the Old Testament canon. The principle the Jews used for canonizing the Pentateuch was whether it was from Moses or not. Moses indicated before his death that others would carry on his work. This is the second principle used for determining the inspiration of an Old Testament book, whether it was written by a true prophet. Thus the only institution in Israel for revelation was through a prophet, first by the great prophet Moses and then by the true prophets that followed after Moses died.

The early church fathers had different criteria for determining inspiration of the New Testament. Apostolic authorship is often cited as a requirement for canonicity. Although defiantly important, this was not the only ground for determining canonicity. The content of the book, whether it was consistent with the rest of Scripture and the doctrines passed down by the apostles, attributed to whether the book was considered for the canon. Likewise, how well the book was circulated in the early churches and whether it was accepted by the early church fathers contributed to its consideration. However, any one of these criteria did not mean that the book would merit consideration in the canon. Many other writings of the second century were widely circulated in the church and accepted by the church fathers but were not considered or claimed to be inspired. Finally, the working of the Holy Spirit in directing the canonization of the New Testament must not be forgotten.

Many references can be found throughout the Old and New Testaments which refer to books and writings which no longer exist. Numbers 21 refers to the book of Wars. The book of Jasher and the Song of Deborah mentioned in Joshua chapter five no longer exist. Kings and Chronicles refer to multiple other books of history by various prophets. Jeremiah directed one of his messages to be thrown into the Euphrates River. In the New Testament, Luke makes reference to many who wrote up accounts of the gospel. Paul wrote as many as five letters to the Corinthians, but only two are in the canon.

These so called “missing” books raise the question as to whether the canon is complete or whether one of these lost books will be found and re-open the canon. Could one of these books be considered inspired Scripture, worthy to be included in the canon? One last test for canonicity would prevent this occurrence, the divine providence of God preserving the Scripture that He wished believers to posses. Many false teachings were circulated during the second century under the false authorship of one of the apostles. How would believers today be able to distinguish an authentic work from a fake? If the new work revealed something other than what is in the canon, it would be false. If it revealed the same message, it would not be needed. Christians need to trust the providence of God and the His preservation of His Word.