March 13th: The Canon

Speaker: Chris Laws

How were the 66 books of the Bible collected together? The idea that Church councils were responsible is rebutted, and the way the collection formed is traced.

REVELATION
We call the collection of inspired books the canon of Scripture.
     (“Canon” = rule.) Scripture is to rule us.
BCF 1:2 lists the 66 books of our Bibles.
RC Bible has 76 books (eg the “Common Bible” of 1973), Gk Orthodox 80 books, the Russian Orthodox 81.
How were the books fixed?
It is commonly said that our canon was defined by the Council of Nicea in AD325.
What do we make of this confused scene?

All agree that the 66 books are canonical.
We will study what the 66-book Bible itself says about the formation of the canon.

THE FORMATION OF THE OT
1. Inspiration
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God”, literally “God breathed”. Divine in origin.
God determines to convey Truth to chosen men – prophets.
The process of inspiration (see Doc Class 12th Sept 2021).

2. Prophets authenticated
OT Israel was trained in this – miracles and signs, eg Moses.
Test: Deut 18.21-22 “How shall we the know the word which the Lord hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass…the Lord hath not spoken.”
Give short term predictions? Correct? Eg. Samuel predicted Eli's sons would die.
     1 Samuel 3.10 “And all Israel…knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the Lord.”
God put in place authenticated messengers.

3. Inspired messages written down
God intended to make a depository of truth for all time. For the whole world.
Anything important has to be in writing. Eg: a will, a financial agreement.
Verifying or proving stage. It cannot be altered once published. Will the content survive?
     Anything in writing can be examined at leisure. A published thesis will come under scrutiny.
     World has had 3500+ years to criticise, find fault with Bible. Still the world’s best seller.

4. Immediately recognised
As soon as an authenticated penman provided an inspired text, it was immediately recognised.
When David wrote “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul” (Ps 19.7) only 1/3rd of the OT was in existence.
It was received there and then as divine, “the law of the Lord”.
People received new books with reverence. Faithful Jews venerated the Law.

5. Collected
Pentateuch was compiled by Moses – God instructed him:
To write the history of Israel (Ex 17.14) and the statutes of God: “Moses wrote all the words of the Lord” (Ex 24.4).
To put the Ten Cs in holy of holies; he “put the testimony into the ark” called thereafter the ark of the covenant.  
To put his books beside the ark: "When Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book…(he) put it in the side of the ark of the covenant” (Deut 31.24-26).          
As soon as another prophet provided an inspired writing, it was added to the OT.
Joshua wrote “in the book of the law of God” (Josh 24.25-26). He added to it.
Samuel wrote in a book which he “laid up before the Lord” (1 Sam 10.25).
Samuel, Nathan, Gad – all prophets – wrote the history of David (1 Chron 29.29).

The canon is forming…
The proverbs were “copied out” by men under Hezekiah (Prov 25.1).
Isaiah, Jeremiah, etc told to put their revelations in writing.
     Isa 30.8 “Write it before them in a…book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever.”
     Hab 2.2 “And the Lord…said, Write the vision…upon tables [writing tablets] that he may run that readeth it.”
Jewish historian Josephus tells they were put in the sanctuary.
Summary: It was the Jews who were called upon to compile the OT under God. One important reason for their existence.

6. Guarded
Rom 3.2 “Unto them were committed the oracles of God.”
Jealous guardians of the canon. Philo, philosopher contemporary with Christ: “The Jews would die 10,000 times rather than to permit one single word to be altered.” Guarded fiercely.
Scribes copied it with meticulous care. They kept it pure.
Christ said of the OT 1,500 years after Moses, “The scripture cannot be broken” (John 10.35). It had remained intact.
He accused the Jews of much sin, but never of corrupting the Bible.
From Moses to Malachi (1000 years) prophets accused the Jews of much, but never of altering the Scriptures.
All the Jews in the days of Christ recognised all the OT books, and so did He.
Christ and the apostles quote the OT nearly 300 times in the NT, refer to it over 600 times.
     All these amount to nearly 10% of the NT. That is the OT canon.

Conclusion: God Himself guided the process of compiling the 39 books of the OT.

APOCRYPHA (10-15 books)
RC includes. 1546 Trent “If anyone receive not as sacred and canonical these said books…let him be anathema.”
We do not for the following reasons:

1. Never included in the Jewish canon – interesting but not “esteemed of like authority” (Josephus AD37-100).
Josephus lists all the 39 books that we have.

2. Not quoted anywhere in the NT.

3. Jews taught prophetic voice died with Malachi – 400 silent years. The Jews called him “the seal of the prophets”.
Apocrypha written during that period. Ironically, it says itself in 1 Macc 9.27: “so there was great distress in Israel, such as had not been since the time that the prophets ceased to appear among them.”

4. Absurd legends – evil spirits made to flee with fish's liver added to incense burner. Dragons. Historical errors.

5. Heretical doctrines which suits Rome.
Prayers for dead (2 Macc 12.44)
Prayers to dead saints (2 Macc 15.14)
Atonement for the dead – purgatory (2 Macc 12.46)

6. Was not included in Bible by 1st century Christians.
Jerome added to Vulgate in 5th C, warning it was not inspired.

7. The Reformers sharply distinguished it from Scripture; early KJVs included it but with warning.

NT CANON
NT – Paul “The signs of an apostle were wrought among you…in signs and wonders and mighty deeds” (2 Cor 12.12).
Christ had promised the apostles that the Holy Spirit “will guide you into all truth” (John 16.13).
     “All truth” – He would complete the Scriptures with everything we need.
The inspired texts were immediately recognised. You pick up the atmosphere in the early churches:
     1 Thess 2.13 tells us Paul’s inspired writings were received as “the word of God”.
     2 Pet 3:16 says of of Paul: “As also in all his epistles…which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures.”
     Paul could say, “I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read unto all the churches” (1 Thess 5.27).
     1 Tim 5:18 “For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward.” Quotes from Deut & Luke.
So the canon was in place in the lifetime of the apostles and authors.
     John was the last to die, and contributed the last book, Revelation.

The church spread rapidly into all corners of the world. Not all churches had access to all the NT books initially.
     It is a miracle that every church recognised the NT books as divine when they became available.
     There was no central committee co-ordinating them.
     Yet none of the other writings of 1st C ever admitted.
The canon was in place before any church councils.
Some questioned Hebrews because the author is not named. Finally acknowledged universally.

THE CHURCH COUNCILS
Common idea that it was determined by church councils.
Cannot be – the church is “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets” (Eph2.20).
     A foundation is always laid before the construction of the building.
The church did not judge which books were to be included and which excluded centuries later.
     It did not lay its own foundation long after it was constructed.
In 3rd, 4th, 5th C’s AD, 184 councils held. Nowhere in the records are there any debate/decisions re the canon.
     Council of Nicea AD325 just reaffirmed the canon when heresies were assailing the churches.

Pache: “The fact is that, right from the start, the apostolic writings were considered as being themselves the Scriptures, and were then added to the [Bible]…they received the new books one after another in the apostolic circle as being just as much the Scriptures as the older writings…they simply joined them to the already existing collection.”
There was a unanimous conviction produced in hearts by the Holy Spirit.

GOD'S WORK
The Jews never changed a thing in the OT however unfaithful.
Rome never changed anything in the NT however unfaithful.
Normally movements start in unity and end with disagreements, splits.
     The church received the NT bit by bit and all came to a perfect unity.
The formation of the canon is a work of God. A priceless gift to mankind.