The Canonicity of Scripture

Today we're continuing our study of bibliology and we're in lesson six, which is what we call canonicity. Canonicity is very important because it helps us to know what books belong in the Bible.

Let's look at our handout. We're going to start with Bible point number one. Canon means a rule, that's the first blank, or standard, that's the second blank, a rule or standard. The word canon is a Greek word that comes borrowed from the Semitic languages and it literally means measuring reed.

Perhaps when you were growing up you had a yardstick from your grandparents, which was like a ruler, but it was of course an exact yard. That's the idea behind a canon. It is a measuring reed. It is a definitive list, that's the third blank, list of books written by an author. The canon of Scripture, Scripture is the fourth blank, is the list of books written, written is the fifth blank, written by God.

So let me reread that. Canon means a rule or standard. It's a definitive list of books written by an author. The canon of Scripture is the list of books written by God. The canon is important because it points us to, first of all, where God has spoken. How do we know what is God's word? We know because of the canon, the books that are included there. It also points to where God has not spoken. There are different false religions and cults that rely on extra-biblical literature.

For example, the Mormons rely on the Book of Mormon. Well, that's not in the canon. A false religion that you're very well aware of is the Muslim religion, Islam. And Islam refers to the Quran as a holy book. Well, that's outside of the canon of Scripture. So the canon refers to where God has spoken and also where He has not spoken. The canon also points to Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of all of Scripture.

Because as a definitive list of books, it begins with the Old Testament and it ends in the New Testament. It tells us that God's word is complete. It's a definitive list. And so we interpret the Old Testament in light of the New, all things being fulfilled in Jesus Christ. And also the canon points to the glory of God in preserving His Church. The Church did not give us Scripture. Rather the word of God gave us the Church.

And we'll see that as we continue on in our lesson today. Look at Psalm 119:160. "The entirety of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever." So all of God's word is truth from Genesis to the book of Revelation. You can't say, "Well, Ruth doesn't really speak to me so it's not God's word." No, it is God's word. That's included in the canon.

Flip over on the back. Look at Matthew 4:4. "But He answered and said" — this is Jesus when He's being tempted — "It is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." Only God's word gives us life. That's what we live by. And we find that in His word.

Flip over back on the front. The application for His word is true — that's the first point — true, and will always endure. God's word is true and will always endure. We studied that a little bit earlier when we looked at the veracity of Scripture and we talked about the sufficiency of Scripture.

Bible point number two: the canon of Scripture is determined by its author. That's the first point. It's determined by its author. Scripture is God-breathed. The canon exists because God has inspired certain, that's the second blank, certain writings and not all writings. The canon simply expresses the free limitation of God's act of inspiration. Inspiration is the third blank. The canon is not a revelation, the fourth blank, revelation, but an artifact of it. In other words, God doesn't say, "Okay, this is a list," and you hear an angel shout out all 66 books of the Bible. But the list is actually just an artifact of His revelation.

He gave each individual book to the holy men of old who were inspired by the Holy Spirit, and collectively these books make up His canon. So the canon of Scripture is determined by its author. In American history, one of the most fascinating figures that you can think of is Howard Hughes. Howard Hughes, if you know his history, he started off in the world of film. He owned RKO Pictures, which at that time was one of the big five Hollywood studios.

He also was an aviation buff and an engineer. He created and designed aircraft that were amazing, broke speed records, built the largest seaplane, ended up founding TWA, and owned his own airline carrier. He also was a developer who developed a lot of properties out in Nevada and Las Vegas. And in the 1950s he was one of the richest men on the globe, and he went silent for the most part. He withdrew from public life.

And that's very rare. Many times people who are rich and powerful like to command attention and like to be in the public eye. But he withdrew from public life, even though he still contributed philanthropically through his charitable gifts. He wasn't a public figure anymore. And in 1971, everyone got really excited because a major book publisher announced that Howard Hughes had authored his autobiography, and they were going to be publishing it.

They had paid a very large sum of money for this. Life magazine paid this publisher a large sum of money to serialize this and to put it in their magazine. And everybody was very excited to learn from his own lips about the life of Howard Hughes and what drove him and what also took him from being so prominent to withdrawing from public life. Until Howard Hughes initiated a press conference, by phone, not in person, talked with several different reporters, and he said, "This autobiography is not mine."

"I did not commission it. I did not interview for it. I did not write it. I did not have any part of it." Come to find out, a man claiming to be his representative had forged his name on the contracts and had forged letters and many of the stories within the supposed autobiography. And what I'm getting at is this was a forgery. It had nothing to do with the mouth or the lips of Howard Hughes. Well, the same way we look at canon as being defined by its author.

Only God determines what books are inspired, the books that come from Him. Let's look at Psalm 119:130. "The unfolding of Your words gives light. It gives understanding to the simple." God's words give us light. They give us understanding. If you flip over on the back, Isaiah 55:2 says this, "Why do you spend money for what is not bread? And your wages for what is not satisfying? Listen carefully to Me and eat what is good and let your soul delight itself in abundance." If we know God's word is revealed in Scripture, why would we turn anywhere else, right?

Only God's word can give us light. Only His word can satisfy. Everything else is a forgery. It's a fake, if you will. It's not authored by God.

The application for Bible point number two is this: what words do you consume most? First blank is words, second blank is consume. What words do you consume most? It's okay to read books outside of Scripture. You can find many biographies that are very profitable. You can find many devotional books and theological works that are very helpful to your understanding. You can find books that can entertain and teach you good morals, right?

But what you should consume the most is the book that's from God's lips, His holy word. Bible point number three: the canon of Scripture is also determined by God's purposes. That's the first blank. By God's purposes revealed in it, God's purposes can't be frustrated. God ensured that His inspired word is preserved. That's the second blank, preserved. And that we know its contents. That's the third blank, its contents.

The canon of Scripture is also determined by God's purposes revealed in it. God's purposes can't be frustrated. God ensures that His inspired word is preserved and we know its contents. It's not just that these words came from God's lips, but that they came from God with a purpose for the Church. And what is that purpose? The author of the Gospel of John tells us, John 20:31 says, "But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name." He wrote His word and ensured that it will be preserved and passed along.

So we may believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. This is how the Church is created from the word of God through belief in Him.

Flip over on the back. Psalm 102:18 talks about this preservation of His word, God's purposes. It says, "Let this be recorded for a generation to come." So the people yet to be created may praise the Lord. His word is not just for me and for you, but for our children and our grandchildren, for all generations.

Romans 4:23 through 25 says, "But the words 'it was counted to Him'" — speaking of the words that were spoken to Abraham or about Abraham in the Old Testament — "were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in Him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord." Christ is accounted to us for righteousness, just the same as Abraham's faith was accounted to him for righteousness, because his faith was ultimately in Christ Jesus.

Look at Romans 15:4, "For whatever was written in former days" — speaking of the Old Testament — "was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope." So the application for number three is this: trust in God's provision, that's the first blank, provision for His people. Second blank is people. God always will provide for His people and in His word we find provision.

Bible point number four: the canon's certainty, that's the first blank, certainty, is found in its author and in the outworking of His purposes. The canon's certainty is not, that's the second blank, is not found in any alleged authority of the Church. The Church has no authority to create, that's the fourth blank, control, the fifth blank, or define it, the sixth blank. The Church only received it.

Let me reread this. This is very important. The canon's certainty is found in its author and in the outworking of His purposes. The canon's certainty is not found in any alleged authority of the Church. The Church has no authority to create, control, or define it; the Church only received it. Last week when we did lesson five, the authenticity of Scripture, we talked about how the New Testament documents proceeded from the apostles with an unbroken chain.

They were distributed widely and far in many different languages. There was never any time that the Church, any individual, or any group had any central control of the distribution of Scripture. As soon as one church got it they would make a copy and pass it to another church. So there's no way for one group to be able to control its contents. Many people have been affected by popular culture, particularly our college students today.

If you talk to many of them, they will repeat what they read in fictional books or movies such as Dan Brown and his novels like the Da Vinci Code, where there is this whole narrative that the Bible was only written in the fourth and fifth century by the Catholic Church to control people and they put in it what they wanted to put into it. Well, that may be entertaining and may be fun to conjecture, but that's about as historical as Star Wars saying "A long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away."

That's a fairy tale by Mr. Brown. The Church did not create the Scriptures. They were God-given. James I. Packer, the great British theologian, said this: "The Church no more gave us God's holy word than Sir Isaac Newton gave us gravity." He says, "God gave us gravity. Newton just recognized it." In the same way, God gave us His Scriptures through His apostles and through the prophets, through holy men of old, and the Church simply recognizes it.

Matthew 28:18, "And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, 'All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.'" Christ is the locus of all authority. The Church has no authority to say these are the words of God. The Church simply recognizes the authority of Christ. Flip over on the back. In the Old Testament, Isaiah 55:10 through 11, God says, "For as the rain comes down and the snow from heaven and does not return there but water the earth and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth."

"It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it." The authority of God's word lies in God Himself.

The application for number four is submit. Submit yourself. That's the first blank. Submit yourself to God and His holy word.

Second blank is word, because God's word is God's word. The authority is of God Himself. So we submit to it as our rule for faith and practice. Bible point number five: Christ and the apostles had a canon of Scripture, the Old Testament. So the first blank is canon. The second blank is Old Testament. So Christ and the apostles had a canon before the New Testament was completed. This was the Old Testament.

From before Christ's advent, the Jewish people recognized a specific number of books as Scripture, that's the third blank, Scripture, and organized them as the law, that's the fourth blank, prophets, the fifth blank, and writings, the sixth blank. So they formally referred to the Old Testament as a tripartite division of the law, the prophets, and the writings. This Old Testament canon was likely recognized as early as 500 BC, that's the last blank, 500 BC, by Ezra and Nehemiah, that's 500 years before Christ, and certainly no later than 200 BC.

We have all these referred to in the Jewish Greek writings or translation of the Old Testament, which we have from 200 BC. The Jewish people never accepted the Apocrypha or Pseudepigrapha as books of Scripture. The Apocrypha is a collection of Jewish books that were written during the intertestamental times, such as Maccabees. They may have referred to them as historical books, but they did not revere them as Scripture, nor the Pseudepigrapha.

The Pseudepigrapha means a book that's written in someone else's name, such as the book of Enoch. It's even quoted in the New Testament, not as Scripture, but as a reference that many Jews would have been familiar with. Both the Apocrypha and the Pseudepigrapha were never recognized as Scripture or as part of the Old Testament canon. Luke 24:44 through 45, this is a post-resurrection appearance of Christ, says, "Then He said to them, 'These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.'" This follows the law, the prophets, and the writings, that tripartite division of the Old Testament canon.

"And He opened their understanding that they might comprehend the" — what? — "Scriptures, right?" They counted these as holy Scripture.

The application is this: why did Christ refer to the Old Testament so often? First blank is Christ. Why did Christ refer to the Old Testament so often? Because that was the word of God, right? That was the revealed word of God from Moses, from the prophets, and the wisdom literature, the writings. Let's look at number six here. All of the books of the New Testament were not only received as genuine, but were used in collected form since the latter half of the second century.

So the first blank is genuine, second blank is collected, third blank is second. So let me reread that. All the books of the New Testament were not only received as genuine, but were used in collected form since the latter half of the second century. Last week when we studied the authenticity of Scripture, we talked about different papyri that were found, and among them was the Bodmer papyri, and if you recall we mentioned those dated to AD, and there we have pretty much all the books of the New Testament, even the last book of the New Testament to be authenticated, which would have been 2 Peter.

2 Peter — people dragged their feet a little bit in recognizing it widely because there were many false gospels and false works that were written underneath the apostles' names. We call these pseudepigraphous, and Peter was the one whose name they used the most. They liked to attach his name to their false gospel or their false letter to try to gain acceptance, right? So the Church was very judicious, but we have early evidence that it was widely, if not universally, accepted by the time of the Bodmer papyri, which would have been the mid to late second century.

Number seven: the early church fathers who lived in the first half of the second century not only quote from these books and allude to them, but testify that they were written by the apostles themselves. It's the first blank for number seven, the apostles themselves, and their contemporaries. Not all books of the New Testament were written by the apostles. You can think about Mark; you can think about Luke, who wrote both Luke and Acts.

We don't know who wrote the book of Hebrews, but these are just examples of books that were written by men who knew the apostles. They were contemporaries and they wrote them during the time of eyewitnesses so they could be verified by eyewitnesses. We thus refer to their origin to the first century when the apostles lived and ministered. The church fathers quoted from every book of the New Testament in the first half of the second century.

We of course date them all the way back to the first century when they were written. Number eight: in response to heretical teachers such as Marcion in 140 AD — let me tell you who Marcion was. Marcion was a heretical teacher who disavowed the entire Old Testament canon. He disavowed all the gospels except for the Gospel of Luke, and only an edited version of the Gospel of Luke. Among the 13 epistles of Paul, he accepted the 10 non-pastoral epistles, but the three pastoral epistles, 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus, he rejected those.

So he was a man picking and choosing Scripture and he was a very influential man. So the Church had to react to this and say, "You're wrong." So they published a list of books that would be Scripture or that would recognize the Scripture. So heretical teachers like Marcion in 140 AD, and groups like the Montanists in 135 to 177 AD — the Montanist was a man and his daughters who fancied themselves as prophets.

They spoke in utterances that were what we call ecstasy, and when they pronounced these revelations, they said that these superseded Scripture, that these were the very words of God, very much in the same vein as some of our more radical charismatic friends, right, who claim divine revelation and prophecy on par with the Old Testament prophets. And so because of Montanist and Marcion heretics, the Church had to respond to that.

The Church put forth a list of books already, that's the first blank, received as Scripture, the second blank. The Muratorian list, which dates from 170 AD — we know this from the Muratorian fragment; archaeologists went through different codexes and they were able to trace this back to about 170 AD. And it contains 22 of the 27 New Testament books; the ones that it does not have are again ones that took a little bit longer for the Church to accept widely, such as 1 and 2 Peter and James.

This was followed by a series of church councils capped by the third Council of Carthage in 397 AD, where this list was formalized. That's the third blank for number eight. It simply confirmed that the 27 New Testament books were already regarded as inspired. So these church councils just recognized what churches were already using and recognizing as Scripture, and they all got together and formally recognized this list.

These were seen as apostolic, orthodox, and catholic. Those three criteria made a big difference for these councils. Apostolic meant that these were from the apostles or from their contemporaries.

When we say that they were orthodox, they had not only to be from the apostles, but they had to have right doctrine. And this precluded works such as the Gospel of Thomas and others that had errors in doctrine. And it had to be catholic. What we mean by catholic is not Catholic as in the Catholic church, but meaning widely accepted and in practice by the churches at large. Bible point number nine: we received the canon only as the early church fathers and councils received them.

The first blank is received, second blank is fathers, third blank is councils. We receive the canon today only as the early church fathers and councils received it, which is by the testimony of God's Spirit. That's the fourth blank. Who witnesses to our hearts concerning their divine authority. That's the fifth blank. We receive the canon only as the early church fathers and councils received it, which is by the testimony of God's Spirit, who witnesses to our hearts concerning their divine authority.

Flip over on the back. 1 Corinthians 2:12 says this, "Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things which have been freely given to us by God." It's the Holy Spirit who witnesses within our heart that rejoices when we hear His word. When you hear God's word proclaimed, your heart is encouraged.

Your heart is enlarged. The Holy Spirit within you bears witness that this is God's word. That's why it has power. It's sharp. It's quick. That's why God's word convicts us of sin and of righteousness and of judgment, because the Holy Spirit works in our hearts. You don't have that same conviction when you read a poem by Yeats or maybe when you read a short story by your favorite author.

You hear a story by Mark Twain. They may be good pieces of literature, but they're not from the lips of God. John 16:13 through 14, Jesus said, "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth, for He will not speak on His own authority. But whatever He hears He will speak, and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you." The Holy Spirit works by taking the Scripture that confesses Christ and that's all about Christ, and He applies it to our hearts.

Lastly, let's look at Bible point number 10. In spite of its variety of authorship and the vast separation of its writers from one another in time — think about that. The Bible was written over a period of at least 1,600 years. All 66 books were written by over 40 different men, and these were men of vastly different estates. You have kings who wrote, like David. You have shepherds. You have fishermen. You have all different backgrounds and widely different areas, and they're all writing this one book.

Even though it's 66 books, this book has one voice, and it tells one story, and that story is Jesus Christ. In spite of its variety of authorship and the vast separation of its writers from one another in time, there is a unity. That's the first blank. Unity of subject, Spirit, and aim throughout the Bible. Christ, that's the second blank. It is unified in its revelation of God. It is one book, that's the last blank, one book written by God.

Only God could engineer such a thing — to have one book written over 1,600 years that tells the same story. We have the Gospel in Genesis chapter 3, right? We have the Gospel not only in the Old Testament, but we have the Gospel all throughout the New Testament. It's all pointing to its fulfillment in Christ.

Flip over on the back. Hebrews 1:1 through 2 talks about this. "Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom He created the world." So God used the prophets and He used holy men of old to write His Scripture, but in these last days He has talked to us through His Son Jesus Christ, who is the Word of God made flesh.

The application is this: Scripture reveals God through Jesus Christ. The first blank is God, the second blank is Jesus, the third blank is Christ. That's why we cherish the word of God. That's why we need the canon, because it lets us know what books tell us about God and how we learn about God's revelation in His holy writ. And thank God He has given it to His Church for us to know Him.