Formation of The Old Testament - Canon of Scriptures - Old Testament As God's Word

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FORMATION OF THE OLD TESTAMENT – CANON OF

SCRIPTURES
- Old Testament As God’s Word

WHAT IS THE CANON OF SCRIPTURE?


The word “canon” comes from the rule of law that was used to
determine if a book measured up to a standard. It is important
to note that the writings of Scripture were canonical at the
moment they were written.
Scripture was Scripture when the pen touched the parchment.
This is very important because Christianity does not start by
defining God, or Jesus Christ, or salvation. The basis of
Christianity is found in the authority of Scripture. If we cannot
identify what Scripture is, then we cannot properly distinguish
any theological truth from error.

What measure or standard was used to determine which books


should be classified as Scripture? A key verse to understanding
the process and purpose, and perhaps the timing of the giving
of Scripture, is Jude 3 which states that a Christian’s faith “was
once for all entrusted to the saints.”
Since our faith is defined by Scripture, Jude is essentially saying
that Scripture was given once for the benefit of all Christians.
isn’t it wonderful to know that there are no hidden or lost
manuscripts yet to be found, there are no secret books only
familiar to a select few, and there are no people alive who have
special revelation requiring us to trek up a Himalayan mountain
in order to be enlightened?

We can be confident that God has not left us without a witness.


The same supernatural power God used to produce His Word
has also been used to preserve it.

Psalm 119:160 states that the entirety of God’s Word is truth.


Starting with that premise, we can compare writings outside
the accepted canon of Scripture to see if they meet the test. As
an example, the Bible claims that Jesus Christ is God (Isaiah
9:6-7; Matthew 1:22-23; John 1:1, 2, 14, 20:28; Acts
16:31, 34; Philippians 2:5-6; Colossians 2:9; Titus
2:13; Hebrews 1:8; 2 Peter 1:1).
Yet many extra-biblical texts, claiming to be Scripture, argue
that Jesus is not God. When clear contradictions exist, the
established Bible is to be trusted, leaving the others outside the
sphere of Scripture.

In the early centuries of the church, Christians were sometimes


put to death for possessing copies of Scripture. Because of this
persecution, the question soon came up, “What books are
worth dying for?” Some books may have contained sayings of
Jesus, but were they inspired as stated in 2 Timothy 3:16?

Church councils played a role in publicly recognizing the canon


of Scripture, but often an individual church or groups of
churches recognized a book as inspired from its writing
(e.g., Colossians 4:16; 1 Thessalonians 5:27). Throughout the
early centuries of the church, few books were ever disputed
and the list was basically settled by A.D. 303.

When it came to the Old Testament, three important facts were


considered: 1) The New Testament quotes from or alludes to
every Old Testament book but two. 2) Jesus effectively
endorsed the Hebrew canon in Matthew 23:35 when He cited
one of the first narratives and one of the last in the Scriptures
of His day. 3)

The Jews were meticulous in preserving the Old Testament


Scriptures, and they had few controversies over what parts
belong or do not belong. The Roman Catholic Apocrypha did not
measure up and fell outside the definition of Scripture and has
never been accepted by the Jews.

Most questions about which books belong in the Bible dealt


with writings from the time of Christ and forward. The early
church had some very specific criteria in order for books to be
considered as part of the New Testament.
These included: Was the book written by someone who was an
eyewitness of Jesus Christ? Did the book pass the “truth test”?
(i.e., did it concur with other, already agreed-upon Scripture?).
The New Testament books they accepted back then have
endured the test of time and Christian orthodoxy has embraced
these, with little challenge, for centuries.

Confidence in the acceptance of specific books dates back to


the first century recipients who offered firsthand testimony as
to their authenticity. Furthermore, the end-time subject matter
of the book of Revelation, and the prohibition of adding to the
words of the book in Revelation 22:18, argue strongly that the
canon was closed at the time of its writing (c. A.D. 95).

There is an important theological point that should not be


missed. God has used His word for millennia for one primary
purpose—to reveal Himself and communicate to mankind.
Ultimately, the church councils did not decide if a book was
Scripture; that was decided when the human author was
chosen by God to write.
In order to accomplish the end result, including the
preservation of His Word through the centuries, God guided the
early church councils in their recognition of the canon.

The acquisition of knowledge regarding such things as the true


nature of God, the origin of the universe and life, the purpose
and meaning of life, the wonders of salvation, and future
events (including the destiny of mankind) are beyond the
natural observational and scientific capacity of mankind.
The already-delivered Word of God, valued and personally
applied by Christians for centuries, is sufficient to explain to us
everything we need to know of Christ (John 5:18; Acts
18:28; Galatians 3:22; 2 Timothy 3:15) and to teach us, correct
us, and instruct us into all righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16).
THE PROCESS OF DECIDING ON THE OLD TESTAMENT
CANON
In his commentary on Galatians, Martin Luther denounced the
Pope for claiming to have authority over the Bible. The Roman
Catholic Church argued that, as it was the papacy who
determined the canon of Scripture, Scripture must bow in
submission to the Pope’s superior authority.
Martin Luther pointed to the folly of such faulty reasoning, for
God alone determines what writings are divinely inspired. Man
does not sit in judgment of the Scriptures; rather, man
discovers, recognizes, and agrees with those writings that are
“God-breathed” (2 Timothy 3:16).

The biblical canon is the collection of literature recognized as


being divinely inspired, that is, words penned by human
authors who “were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke
from God” (2 Peter 1:21, NLT). The word canon comes from a
Greek word meaning “rule” or “measuring stick.” Based on Jude
1:3, the canon of Scripture has been settled for all time, and
nothing can be added to or taken from our Bible.

THE CLOSED CANON—WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS?


The canon of Scripture refers to all the books in the Christian
Bible and Hebrew Scriptures that together constitute the
complete and divinely inspired Word of God. Only the books of
the canon are considered authoritative in matters of faith and
practice. The idea of a closed canon is that the Bible is
complete; no more books are being added to it. God is not
appending His Word.

The canon of Scripture was determined by God, not men.


Making this distinction is important. The accepted books were
not considered inspired because humans determined that they
should be part of the canon; they were included in the canon
because God inspired them at the time they were written.
God’s people were only responsible for discovering or
recognizing the canon. The process of discovery started with
Jewish scholars and rabbis and was finalized by the early
Christian church by the end of the fourth century.

The development of a complete or closed canon of Scripture


formed as the early church tested and discerned what was truly
the divinely inspired Word of God. Humanly speaking, the
process unfolded imperfectly, but ultimately God’s sovereign
purpose prevailed.

Today Protestants include 66 books of the Old and New


Testament in the canon. Roman Catholics and some Eastern
Orthodox churches accept additional writings known as the
Apocrypha, a set of books not considered authoritative or
divinely inspired in Judaism and Protestant Christianity.

The most significant implication of a closed canon is that


additional books cannot be added to the Bible and none of the
books that are currently included can be removed. God has
spoken.

A closed canon implies that other religious books that devotees


purport to be inspired by God should be rejected as spurious.
The Book of Mormon, the Quran, the Vedas, The Great
Controversy, and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures
—all of these are works of men and women and not the product
of God’s Holy Spirit.

A closed canon also implies that there are no apostles or


prophets today who are receiving new messages from God. The
church is gifted with teachers and preachers of the Word today,
but anyone who claims a new revelation from God, proffers his
or her message as divinely inspired, or assumes authority on
par with the Bible is leading people astray. Sadly, many in the
church give heed to dreams and visions shared from the pulpit
and to those who falsely claim that “God spoke to me.”

But what if a truly prophetic book were discovered today? What


if a lost letter written by the apostle Paul were found? Even if
another epistle were found, and it could be verified as Pauline,
we would not add it to the canon of Scripture.
We assume that Paul wrote many letters to various groups over
the course of his ministry, but most of them were not
preserved, showing it was not God’s will for them to be
included in the canon (see 2 Corinthians 7:8 for a possible
reference to a non-canonical letter).

Jude, one of the last books to be included in the canon before it


was closed, says, “Dear friends, although I was very eager to
write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to
write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all
entrusted to God’s holy people” (Jude 1:3).

The words the faith in this passage refer to the sum of what
Christians believe, all of the apostles’ teachings, or the whole
body of Christian beliefs. In other words, everything we believe
in the Christian faith has already been delivered or revealed to
the saints through the apostles and prophets. Through the
Scriptures, God has given us a final and complete body of
knowledge for living the Christian faith.

An open canon would allow books or passages of Scripture to


be added to the Bible through continued or ongoing revelation.
By adding books to the canon, we would essentially be saying
that the current Bible is incomplete, or lacking in some way.

Proverbs 30:5–6 cautions us not to add to God’s words: “Every


word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge
in him. Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove
you a liar.”

Deuteronomy 4:2 warns us not to add or take away from God’s


commands: “Do not add to what I command you and do not
subtract from it, but keep the commands of the LORD your God
that I give you” (see also Deuteronomy 12:32).

At the close of the book of Revelation, the last book of the


Bible, we read a similar warning: “I testify to everyone who
hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to
them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this
book;
and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this
prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and
from the holy city, which are written in this book” (Revelation
22:18–19)

Acknowledging a closed canon means accepting the idea that


God has already revealed everything His children need to know.
It also means that everything He has revealed in the Scriptures
is divinely inspired. Nothing should be added, and nothing
ought to be taken away or ignored.

A closed canon doesn’t mean God has ceased to reveal Himself


to people today but that there will be no new revelation of truth
outside of what He has already revealed in the Bible to the
church.
God has placed in the closed canon of Scripture everything we
need to know about Himself, and about who we are, how we
ought to live, and what will happen in the future (see 2 Peter
1:3).

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