The Canonicity of Scripture

God has not only inspired His Word, He has preserved His Word.

Main Question:

How do we know/can we trust that the 66 books of the Bible are the Word of God? How do we know there aren’t more?

Disclaimer: There isn’t enough time, tonight, to walk through the entire history of canonization, dive into why some books that are left out—like the Apocrypha—aren’t part of “Scripture,” etc.

Defining terms: Canon — the original meaning of the term “canon” can be traced to the ancient Greeks, who used it in a literal sense: a kanon was a rod, ruler, staff, or measuring rod. Later, this word came to also mean “standard,” or “norm.”

Canon—“standard” or “norm”

“Inspiration indicates how the Bible received its authority, whereas canonization tells how the Bible received its acceptance.”

~ Norman Geisler

Two important principles God determines canonicity. Man recognizes canonicity.

The reason there are only 66 books in the canon is that God inspired only that many. Only 66 books were found to have the stamp of divine authority, because God only stamped that many, or invested that number with authority for faith and practice.

“As men of the old were moved by the Spirit to write the holy books, God providentially led his people to preserve, recognize, and treasure these writings.” (Akin)

2 Peter 1:21 ESV

For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

5 Guidelines

Was the book written by a prophet of God?

A prophet was the mouthpiece of God.

The prophets received the Word of the Lord—not for personal edification but for public proclamation. God had a word for His people and it was delivered by the Spirit through the prophet to the people.

A prophet was one who declared what God had disclosed to him. Thus, only the prophetic writings were canonic. Anything not written by a spokesman (prophet) of God was not part of the Word of God.

If it was written by an apostle or prophet then its place in the canon is secured.

False claims of authority/apostleship/prophetic call.

Was the writer confirmed by acts of God?

There were true prophets and there were false prophets. Therefore, it was necessary to have a divine confirmation of the true ones. Miracles were used for this purpose.

A miracle is an act of God to confirm the Word of God given through a prophet of God to the people of God. It is the sign to validate his sermon—to confirm his message. Not every prophetic revelation was confirmed by a specific miracle…BUT…if the Word of God came to pass, it was to be accepted.

Did the message tell the truth about God?

Does the book tell the truth about God and his world as known from previous revelations?

Simply because a book is not false, though, doesn’t make it canonical. This authenticity test is what we see in Acts 17:11 as the Bereans search the Scriptures to see if Paul’s teaching was true or not. While agreement with the rest of the known Word of God does not necessarily make a book canonical, disagreement is definitely a sign that it is not authentic/authoritative/the Word of God.

Does it come with the power of God?

Another test for canonicity was the edifying effect of the book. Does it have the power of God? The Fathers believed the Word of God is living and active and consequently ought to have a transforming power to bring about change. If the message of a book did not accomplish its stated goal, if it did not have the power to change a life, then God was apparently not behind its message.

We see this in 2 Timothy 3:15

2 Timothy 3:15 ESV

and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

Was it accepted by the people of God?

If a book was prophetic it was canonic. A prophet of God was confirmed by an act of God and was a spokesman recognized by the people of God to whom he gave his message. Therefore, the seal of canonicity was whether or not the book was accepted by the people of God.

Now, it wasn’t always the case that every prophet or apostle was initially accepted by everyone…however, true believers in the community acknowledged the prophetic nature of his message, as did other contemporary believers familiar with the prophet. This was the initial acceptance—to the recipients.

Then came more recognition, particularly in the NT, as the letters/books were circulated, read, and became part of the worship gatherings of local believers.

So, these are the 5 guidelines…

THE OLD TESTAMENT

Most of the OT canon, especially the Law and Prophets, was established long before the time of Christ.

The details of the process by which the OT writings were recognized as authoritative and distinguished from other Jewish works remain largely unknown.

What we do know is that the books that were considered canonical—sacred and authoritative—by the Jewish fathers—were from Moses to Malachi. So sacred were these writings that they were preserved by the Ark of the Covenant in the Temple.

Fell into 3 major categories known as the TaNaKh—The Law, Prophets, and Writings

Jesus:

Luke 24:44 ESV

Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”

Matthew 23:34–35 ESV

Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar.

The New Testament directly quotes or alludes to all books of the Old Testament except for Judges, Ruth, Song of Solomon, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Ezra, and Nehemiah. In total, there are about 855 Old Testament quotations and allusions in the New Testament. 

THE NEW TESTAMENT

The NT writings functioned authoritatively from their beginning; yet, as with the OT, their collection and distinction from other literature of the time was a gradual process spanning several centuries.

Jesus gave his disciples authority but not all in the first churches accepted their authority. Paul had to address this in several of his letters.

Not all letters/works written by apostles were included in the canon, either.

1 Corinthians 5:9 ESV

I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people—

Colossians 4:16 ESV

And when this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea.

Now, WHEN the apostolic writings were initially gathered is not known for sure. By the time of the writing of 2 Peter, several letters of Paul were known.

2 Peter 3:15–16 ESV

And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.

The apostles’ letters were to be read in struggling churches during their worship meetings. They would have been received as valuable directives. The letters of Paul were widely circulated and read by the beginning of the second century.

(Read 1 Clement 47:1-3)

Tradition has held that the decisive period in the history of the NT canon was AD 140—200, during which time the basic form of the canon developed. The reason for the canon’s fixture came largely as a result of the church’s need to counter the heresies of Marcionism and Montanism. The NT canon, in the majority, was accepted by growing consensus around the end of the second century.

By the time the 3 & 4th centuries arrived, debate began to grow around other letters/works like “Apocalypse of Peter” and the “Shepherd of Hermas.” It was these debates that led to an increasingly more precise definition of what constituted a “canonical writing” and to a clearer determination of the limits of the canon.

By the 4th century, a distinction was made between those books/letters that were authorized for public reading, such as Jude, 2 John, 3 John, and those recommended only for private devotional edification such as the Shepherd of Hermas.

The first church council to list all 27 books of the NT was the Council of Carthage in AD 397.

Again…it’s important to say that the early church fathers/councils did not create the canon, but they merely acknowledged those inspired writings that were already recognized by the churches.

Application – Why This Matters Today

A. Confidence in Scripture

We can trust the Bible because it is not the product of human decision, but of divine inspiration and spiritual recognition.

B. Responding to Critics

When people say, “The church picked the books they liked,” you can now respond with clarity: God inspired them, and the community of faith recognized that inspiration over time.

C. Living by the Word

If God inspired and preserved His Word, then we are accountable to read, trust, and obey it.

V. Conclusion and Discussion (2 minutes)

🧠 Key Takeaways:

God determines what is Scripture through inspiration.

Man discovers what is Scripture through recognition.

The canon of Scripture is trustworthy, complete, and divinely guided.