How do we know that the sixty-six books that make up our Bible are the
only writings that should be included in Holy Scripture? Do the
Apocrypha, the
Gnostic Gospels, the Gospels of Thomas or Barnabas
belong in the canon? Why should these books not
be included in
the Bible? The answer to these questions lies in the concept of
canonicity. The
English word “canon” comes from Hebrew and Greek words both of which
mean, “a
measuring rod.” This signifies that there is a standard that must be
met by all
books which make up the Bible. There are several inadequate views of
what the
standard for canonicity should have been, such as the age of the
writing, its
agreement with the Torah, if written in Hebrew or its religious value.
But each
of these criterion is reached by making a common mistake, which is,
they
confuse God’s determination of what Scripture is with man’s recognition
of what
it is. In the final analysis, whatever the Holy Spirit moved a servant
of God to
write is inspired and belongs in the canon, and whatever is the mere
writing of
man does not!
There are several crucial
questions that have been asked by scholars in the church in determining
which
books are to be accepted as canonical. The first and most basic is,
“Was the
book(s) written by a recognized prophet of God?” Deuteronomy 18:18
tells us
that only a prophet of God will speak the Word of God. And we know that
by
observing what he has to say, and if it comes to pass, we recognize him
as a
prophet of God and fear him. If it does not come to pass, we simply
ignore that
self-proclaimed prophet. God revealed himself in times past by the
prophets,
but in the Christian era he revealed himself through his Son and those
chosen
by the Son to serve as preachers and writers of the Gospel (Hebrews
1:1-2).
The second question is, “Was
his message confirmed by acts of God?” We are told in such places as
Mark 16:20
and Hebrews 2:3-4 that God confirmed the teaching of his chosen men
with signs
and miracles. God has always confirmed the messages of his true
prophets. Moses
had his rod that turned into a serpent, and back to a rod, as well as
many
other miracles. Jesus performed all manner of miracles, and finally
resurrected
from the dead to prove his right to speak the Word of God. The apostles
were
given the gifts of the Holy Spirit with which they duplicated many, if
not all,
of the miracles of Jesus, thus proving their right to speak God’s Word.
Many of
the prophets lived to see the fulfillment of their prophecies that
would confirm
the truthfulness of what they said.
The third question is, “Does
it tell the truth about God?” Paul said that even if he, the other
apostles, or
an angel from heaven preached a Gospel that was not in harmony with
what
already had been preached, that person was anathema (Galatians 1:6-9).
What the
New Testament apostles, prophets and evangelists taught had to stand in
full
agreement with all earlier revelation on that subject. This kept false
prophets
from slipping their works into the Bible.
The fourth question is,
“Does the writing evidence the transforming power of God?” Does it
demonstrate
that it is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword by
transforming the lives of those who come to know it? Paul said the
Gospel is the
power of God to save. It must demonstrate that power.
Finally, “Is it
accepted by
the people of God?” Do those who know most about all the rest of the
Scripture
accept a particular book as being in harmony with all the rest, as did
the
people of Thessalonica, for example (1 Thessalonians 2:13)? Does it
appropriately quote other Bible books? The Old Testament prophets
studied one
another (Daniel 9:2), and so did the New Testament writers (2 Peter
3:14-18).
These, briefly stated, are the tests for the canonicity of the books of
the
Bible.
How Was the Bible
Put Together?