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How did we get the Bible?

Megan Rawlings

How Did We Get the Bible?

If someone were to ask you, “Where did the Bible come from?” would you be able to answer? My hope is that if not, then by the end of this blog, you will be able to at least give a simple answer. Despite whether you can defend how we got the Bible or what it says, remember the words of Billy Graham, “Prayer is crucial in evangelism: Only God can change the heart of someone who is in rebellion against Him. No matter how logical our arguments or fervent our appeals, our words will accomplish nothing unless God’s Spirit prepares the way.”

When asked a question about the formation of Scripture, God is the most logical explanation. I think that is a fantastic answer, and I agree, but how did Christians determine that the 66 books they hold sacred were the right ones? Who made the call, when did it get made, and how reliable is it?

When these separate books and letters were recognized as one, the process was called canonization.

These are all questions I asked and have been asked. The short answer is that the Holy Spirit directed and guided the Church, and now we have the 39 books that make up the Old Testament and the 27 books that make up the New Testament. These books and letters were all written at different times over 1,500 years by different authors (although some books share the same author.) When these separate books and letters were recognized as one, the process was called canonization.

What is Canon?

The New Bible Dictionary says:

‘Canon’ is borrowed from Gk., in which kanōn means a rule. Since the 4th century kanōn has been used by Christians to denote an authoritative list of the books belonging to the OT or NT. What qualifies a book for a place in the Canon of the OT or NT is not just that it is ancient, informative and helpful, and has long been read and valued by God’s people, but that it has God’s authority. God spoke through its human author to teach his people what to believe and how to behave. It is not just a record of revelation, but the permanent written form of revelation. The Bible is ‘inspired’ (*Inspiration), and it makes the books of the Bible in this respect different from all other books. [1]

So, the question shifts slightly. Now we ask, “When did the Bible become Canon?”

 The Old Testament

The Jewish Bible, called the Tanakh, is the Old Testament (OT). It is widely accepted that the majority of the OT, as we know it, was canonized by the time of Jesus. Michael Kruger said in an essay he wrote for the Gospel Coalition, “One of the other ways to ascertain the state of the OT canon in the first century is to consider the way NT writers utilize OT books. Even though the OT is cited frequently by NT writers, there is no indication of any dispute over the boundaries OT canon. [sic] Indeed, there is not a single instance anywhere of an NT author citing a book as Scripture that is not in our current thirty-nine-book canon. And while Jesus himself had many disagreements with the Jewish leadership of his day, there appears to be no indication that there was any disagreement over which books were Scripture—a reality that is hard to explain if the OT canon was still in flux.”[2]

Nonetheless, the most compelling piece of evidence we have is that the Old Testament was canonized and accepted as Scripture because of the way Jesus uses it.

Additionally, there is confirmation by Josephus, a first-century Jewish historian, that the Old Testament was accepted as canon. It appears from his writings that the Old Testament was pretty well settled: “For although such long ages have now passed, no one has ventured neither to add, or to remove, or to alter a syllable”. [3]

Nonetheless, the most compelling piece of evidence we have is that the Old Testament was canonized and accepted as Scripture because of the way Jesus uses it. Craig Blomberg and Julie N. Dykes wrote, “In sum, we see in Jesus’ view of the Old Testament God’s word to the world, as evidenced by his citation of a wide selection of texts, even if not always in ways with which his Jewish contemporaries would have agreed.”[4]

The New Testament

The New Testament (NT), with 27 books the way we know it now, was formally canonized at the Council of Hippo in 393 A.D. and the Council of Carthage in 397 A.D. It is vital to note that the NT books were recognized as Scripture in the early church. For example, Paul used Luke’s writings and considered them as authoritative as the Old Testament (ex., 1 Timothy 5:18 and Luke 10:7). Then, we see cases of Peter using Paul’s writings as Scripture (2 Peter 3:15–16). “Some of the books of the New Testament were being circulated among the churches (Colossians 4:16; 1 Thessalonians 5:27). Clement of Rome mentioned at least eight New Testament books (A.D. 95). Ignatius of Antioch acknowledged about seven books (A.D. 115). Polycarp, a disciple of John the apostle, acknowledged 15 books (A.D. 108). Later, Irenaeus mentioned 21 books (A.D. 185). Hippolytus recognized 22 books (A.D. 170-235). “[5]

The first canon was composed in 170 A.D. This was called the Muratiorian Canon. It was missing five books that we have in the completed canon, and the Council of Laodicea said the OT (and the Apocrypha), and all the books we have today, minus Revelation, were canonical. They were close, but no cigar. The Council of Hippo and the Council of Carthage were the ones who gave us the completed canonical Scriptures that we know and use today.

References Cited:

[1] R. T. Beckwith, “Canon of the Old Testament,” New Bible Dictionary (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996), 165.

[2] https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/the-biblical-canon/

[3] Against Apion, 1.42

[4] https://www.gotquestions.org/canon-Bible.html

[4] https://www.gotquestions.org/canon-Bible.html

For more reading on the canonization of Scripture:

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