The Canon of Scripture Lesson 19

I. Recognizing the Canon

How did the come to have 66 books? Are there any missing books? Are there some books that should have been included that are not? Who decided which ones to include? Have not recent discoveries revealed other documents that should be included?

Second Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God….” So, we know that all Scripture is inspired. The question is what is ____scripture______? How do we know the right books, and all the right books, were included?

All of these questions relate to what we call __canonicity______. While inspiration is the means by which the Bible received the authority, canonization is the process by which the Bible received its acceptance.

A. Canonicity Defined

The word “canon” is derived from the Greek Kanon which, in turn, comes from the Hebrew Kaneh meaning reed or rod. The reed was used as a

____measuring rod______or ____ruler______and

consequently came to mean ___standard______.

The word was used to denote the standard by which different writings were evaluated. Eventually, it came to mean the list of books recognized as given by God’s inspiration. Thus, we refer to the “canon” of Scripture.

B. Characteristics of Canonicity

It is important to note that the church did not create the canon; it did not determine which books would be called Scripture - the inspired Word of God. Instead, the church recognized, or ____discovered______, which books had been inspired from their inception. Battle for Truth Lesson Nineteen/page 2

Stated another way, “a book is not the Word of God because it is accepted by the people of God. Rather, the people of God accepted it because it is the Word of God.” That is, God gives the book its divine authority, not the people of God. They merely recognize the divine authority which God gives to it.

Let me restate these distinctions differently. The writings are not authoritative because they are included in the list; they are in the list because their authority has been recognized. Divine authority comes first; canonicity follows and is dependent upon it.

C. Criteria for Inclusion in the Canon

From the writings of biblical and church history we can discern at least five principles that guided the recognition and collection of the true divinely inspired books.

1. Is it authenticated by the __apostles______? (apostolicity) Was it written by an apostle or in the company of an apostle, presumably with his help and endorsement; that is, does it have apostolic approval.

All of the books of the were written by an apostle except for Mark, who was Peter’s assistant (Acts 12:12; 1 Peter 5:13), and Luke who was a close associate and partner with Paul (2 Tim. 4:11; Philemon 24).

The Greek word for Scripture is graphe, which literally means writing. It is

important to note that _every___ time it is used in the New

Testament – which is some 51 times – it is used to refer to __sacred__

__writings______, specifically ____scripture______, not just other generic writings or documents in existence.

The use of the word Scripture, or graphe, is reserved in its definitive and particular sense for only the authoritative and canonical books of Holy Writ. Battle for Truth Lesson Nineteen/page 3

For those who wrote the books of the New Testament to describe any other books by this technical word amounts to claiming inspiration for them.

As such, Peter claims that Paul’s writings constitute inspired Scripture (2 Peter 3:15,16). Here Paul's writings are considered Scripture in the same sense as the writings referred to earlier in the same passage (cf. 2 Pet. 3:5, 7-8).

In 1 Timothy 5:18 the apostle Paul quotes from Luke, placing it on the same level with the rest of Scripture, using the introduction "for the Scripture says" (with reference to Luke 10:7).

In 2 Peter 3:2, Paul equates the Apostles' writings and commandments with the holy prophets of the Old Testament. So the New Testament claims to be Scripture. Paul calls the writers Scripture.

So, Peter corroborates Paul, Paul corroborates Luke and the gospel writers. Did anyone corroborate Peter? Note Jude 17; he's referring to Peter (2 Peter 3:3). The Apostles of our Lord spoke the words of God.

We should note here that from the very beginning of Christianity there were inauthentic and non-apostolic writings in circulation. See Luke 1:1-4; 2 Thess. 2:3; 2 Thess. 3:17; 1 Tim. 1:3-11; Gal. 1:6,7; Rev. 2:20.

As a result of spurious books circulating, there was a selecting process at work in the early church. Every alleged word about Christ, whether oral or written, was subjected to authoritative apostolic teaching. If word or work could not be verified by those who were eyewitnesses (see Luke 1:2; Acts 1:21-22), it was rejected. The apostles who could say, "That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you" (1 John 1:3) were the final court of appeal. See also 2 Peter 1:16. Thus the living "canon" of eyewitnesses became the criterion by which the earliest canonical writings were recognized.

2. Is the book ___authoritative______– does it claim to be of God?

Let us illustrate this principle of authority as it relates to the canon. The books of the prophets were easily recognized by this principle of authority. Battle for Truth Lesson Nineteen/page 4

The repeated, “And the Lord said unto me,” or “The word of the Lord came unto me,” is abundant evidence of their claim to divine authority.

3. Is it ____authentic/accurate______– does it tell the truth? Is it accurate?

Any book with factual or doctrinal error could not be inspired of God. God cannot lie; His word must be true and consistent.

Much of the was rejected because of the principle of authenticity. Their historical anomalies and theological heresies made it impossible to accept them as from God despite their authoritative format. They could not be from God and contain error.

4. Is the book ______dynamic______– does it posses the life- transforming power of God?

“The word of God is alive and powerful” (Hebrews 4:12). As a result it can be used “for teaching, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

5. Is the book received or _____accepted_____ by the people of God for whom it was originally written – is it recognized as being from God?

The people of God immediately accepted the books of Moses. They were collected, quoted, preserved, and even imposed on future generations. Paul’s were immediately received by the churches to whom they were addressed (1 Thessalonians 2:13) and even by other apostles (2 Peter 3:16). Some writings were immediately rejected by the people of God as lacking divine authority (2 Thessalonians 2:2).

Another indication that the process of New Testament canonization began immediately in the first-century church was the practice of official

__public reading______of apostolic books. See 1 Thess. 5:27; Col. 4:16; 1 Tim. 4:13). The public reading of authoritative words from God was a practice of long standing. Battle for Truth Lesson Nineteen/page 5

The role of the people of God was decisive in the recognition of the Word of God. God determined the authority of the books of the canon, but the people of God were called upon to discover which books were authoritative and which were not. To assist them in this discovery were these five tests of canonicity.

D. Collection of the Canon

1. The catalyst for collection

There were several forces at work in the early days of Christendom which served as a catalyst for assembling a list of canonical books.

• ___Ecclesiastical____

• ___Political______

• ___Theological______

As we just noted, pastors were instructed to read the Scriptures to their congregations, and preach from the Scriptures. This instruction, coupled with the fact that many false letters were making the rounds called for someone to put together a list of canonical books. The Scriptures already existed and were being read and preached from in individual form, but there was not list. So, in 140 AD, Marcion, a heretic, published a list of what he considered the canonical books – Luke and ten of Paul’s letters – which he edited to suit his own theology. Incidentally, he rejected all of the Old Testament.

So, by a heretic formulating a list, it stimulated the church to establish the canon of the New Testament which we have today, according to the criteria we have previously set forth.

2. Church Fathers

The early church fathers provide abundant evidence of the early discovery of the canon. Church fathers are those prominent believers who lived immediately following the apostles and were their contemporaries – that is, Battle for Truth Lesson Nineteen/page 6

they knew each other. Let me just name a few to give you some idea of who they are and why they are important.

• __Polycarp______

• __Ignatius______

• __Clement______

• __Irenaeus______

Athanasius (AD 367) gave us a list of New Testament books that corresponds exactly to our present New Testament. Others like Jerome and Augustine circulated lists which were identical.

3. Church Councils

At least four church councils were convened over the issue of the canon.

• Hippo (393) • Carthage (397) • Carthage (419)

One authority states that though the New Testament canon was declared by the Council of Hippo in 393 AD, “these books were read and distributed as Scripture for over 300 years by individual Christians and church’s long before their church councils claimed to give us the Bible.”

F.F. Bruce states that “when at last a Church Council – The of Hippo in AD 393 – listed the twenty-seven books of the New Testament, it did not confer upon them any authority which they did not already possess, but simply recorded their previously established canonicity. (The ruling of the Synod of Hippo was re-promulgated four years later by the Third Synod of Carthage.)”

So we see that the confirmation of the canonicity of the New Testament is evidenced in several ways. Immediately after the times of the apostles, in the writings of the earliest Fathers, there is recognition of the inspiration of Battle for Truth Lesson Nineteen/page 7

all of the twenty-seven books. Supporting their witness are the early translations, canonical lists, and pronouncements of church councils. All together they provide a continuity of recognition from the very inception of the canon in the time of the apostles until the final confirmation of the church at the end of the fourth century.

II. Rejecting other Contenders

There are more than __2,000____ other books that, at one time or another, have been suggested as canonical.

There were other “gospel” books: The Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Peter, the Gospel of Nicodemus, the Gospel of Mary, and many more.

There were other “Acts”: The Acts of Peter, the Acts of John, the Acts of Andrew, the Acts of Thomas, and more.

There were other epistles or letters: The Letters of Paul to Seneca, the Letter of Paul to the Laodiceans, the Letter of Polycarp to the Philippians, the Seven Epistles of Ignatius. The list goes on and on.

A. Alluded to in Scripture

There are actually about __22___ books referenced in Scripture that are not a part of Scripture. Let me just mention a few.

• Jude 14 makes reference to the prophecies of Enoch.

• Joshua 10:13 makes reference to the Book of Jasher.

• Numbers 21:14 refers to the Book of the Wars of the Lord.

Critics will claim that these, and other books mentioned in Scripture, constitute “lost” books of the Bible. Why? Simply because they are quoted as sources in Scripture? Does that make them inspired of God? __No__ These books were never accepted as inspired of God and did not meet the criteria for inclusion.

Battle for Truth Lesson Nineteen/page 8

B. The Apocrypha

The most crucial area of disagreement on the Old Testament canon among Christians is the debate over the so-called Apocrypha. The Apocrypha consists of fifteen books written during the 400 “silent” years between the last written book of the Old Testament and the birth of Christ.

Without entering into a lengthy expose of reasons why the Apocrypha is not canonical, let me offer the following facts taken from From God To Us by Norman Geisler and William E. Nix:

1. The Jewish community has never accepted them as canonical. 2. They were not accepted by Jesus nor the New Testament writers; there is no record of any dispute over the Apocrypha not being included. In fact, Jesus referenced all of the Old Testament with no reference to the Apocrypha (Luke 24:44). 3. Early Church Fathers spoke out against and rejected their canonicity. 4. The New Testament quotes from the Old Testament 295 times; not once from the Apocrypha. 5. Jerome, the great biblical scholar and translator of the – the translation of Scripture into Latin - strongly rejected the Apocrypha. 6. Many Roman Catholic scholars, even through the Reformation Period, rejected the canonicity of the Apocrypha. 7. Neither Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, nor Protestant churches have recognized the Apocrypha as inspired and canonical.

Indeed, when examined by the criteria for canonicity, the Apocrypha is found wanting:

1. The Apocrypha does not claim to be inspired of God and there is a conspicuous absence of prophecy such as is found in the canonical books. 2. The Apocrypha contains historical errors (see Tobit 1:3-5 and 14:11) and such theological heresies as praying for the dead (2 Mac 12:45 46; 4) and salvation by works (Tobit 12:9). 3. The reception by the people of God to whom they were originally presented was negative.

Battle for Truth Lesson Nineteen/page 9

The Jewish community has never changed this stand. Whatever value is placed upon them, it is evident that the church as a whole has never accepted the Apocrypha as canonical Scripture.

C. Recent Discoveries

One other bit of information as we close this section: every few years the news media announces an “important find that may significantly impact Christianity.” I’ll mention two of these.

• The Gospel of Judas

• The Gospel of Jesus’ Wife

III. Conclusion

David Dockery, Kenneth Matthews, and Robert Sloan, after reviewing the evidence in their recent book, Foundations for Biblical Interpretation, conclude concerning the Bible’s canon: “No Christian, confident in the providential working of his God and informed about the true nature of canonicity of his Word, should be disturbed about the dependability of the Bible we now possess.”

The starry firmament on high, And all the glories of the sky, Yet shine not to thy praise, O Lord, So brightly as thy written Word.

Almighty God, the sun shall fail, The moon forget her nightly tale, And deepest silence hush on high, The radiant chorus of the sky;

But, fixed for everlasting years, Unmoved, amid the wreck of spheres, Thy word shall shine in cloudless day, When heaven and earth have passed away.

Lesson Twenty: The Importance of the Word of God Battle for Truth Lesson Nineteen/page 10

Battle for Truth Lesson Nineteen/page 11

References for Further Reading

Non-technical, easy read-through 1. The Case for Faith – Lee Strobel – Zondervan. 2. In Defense of the Faith – Dave Hunt – Harvest House 3. Know Why You Believe – Paul Little – Victor Books

Non-technical, question and answer 4. Reasons Skeptics Should Consider Christianity – Josh McDowell & Don Stewart – Here’s Life Publishers.

Easy to medium difficulty; covers many issues in scholarly, but understandable terms. Excellent resource. 5. Many Infallible Proofs – Henry Morris – Master Books

Medium difficulty; more in-depth 6. From God To Us – Norman Geisler & William Nix – Moody Press 7. A General Introduction to the Bible – Norman Geisler & William Nix – Moody Press

In-depth reference books; covers broad subject area 8. The New Evidence That Demands A Verdict – Josh McDowell – Nelson Publishers (Should be in every Christian’s library) 9. Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics – Norman Geisler – Baker Book House