Every so often, you will see sensational headlines in the media about so-called “lost books” of the Bible that there were purportedly deliberately excluded as part of a diabolical plot to suppress information. Such attempts to persuade some that the Bible (specifically, the New Testament) is incomplete and missing whole books indicates a general misunderstanding about how the formation of the New Testament took place.
Because of this, Christians particularly should have a general understanding how the New Testament was formed by the early Church. In so doing, they will discover that God used His people to recognize that which He, as the true Author of Scripture, left His written message for the Church. And, in so doing, believers in ancient times were able to discern God’s true message from spurious ones. And they did this, in part, through several criteria.
First Test: Apostolic Authorship
Perhaps the primary factor in determining whether a New Testament book was to be accepted as canonical was apostolic authorship. If it could be determined that a book had such authorship, there was no reason to doubt its authenticity, or truthfulness. The church was “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets” (Eph. 2:20). Christ had promised the apostles would be guided unto all the truth (John 16:13) by the Holy Spirit, and so they were. They, in turn, guided others into the truth. It was said of the early disciples that they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. (Acts 2:42)
Second Test: Apostolic Authority
To speak of apostolic authority is not to say that there had to be apostolic authorship. John Mark, and Luke, were companions and secretaries of the apostles, and yet their works were recognized as authoritative for their writings like all the other books had a prophetic spirit about it.
Third Test: Universal Acceptance
Another test for canonicity was whether the book was accepted, and read in the various churches.
Paul commanded that 1 Thessalonians should be “read to all the brethren” (1 Thess. 5:27). The apostle John promised a blessing to all who read the words of the prophecy of the Revelation, and kept it (Rev. 1:3).
Paul instructed the Colossians, saying, “And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea (Col. 4:16). Those works, which were read and circulated because they carried apostolic authority, were recognized by the early Christians, and by the Patristic Fathers of the Church.
By the middle of the second century, every book of the New Testament was referred to by at least one of the early Church Fathers. These men were careful to examine a book’s subject matter for content. If something that was said that contradicted other recognized writings, that work was rejected. Most of all, the Church Fathers were careful to discover whether a book was able to inspire, convict, and edify the local assembly and individual believers.
Of course, during the discussion period, which lasted from c. AD 50 to AD 397 and the Third Council of Carthage, not all the Church Fathers agreed which books were to be accepted as canonical. In fact, the situation became serious when a man named Marcion (c. AD 85-160) arose to gain a following within the Christian community.
What made Marcion so dangerous was that he said there were two Gods. There was the “harsh” God of the Old Testament, and the “loving” God revealed in the person of Jesus Christ. To prove his point Marcion wrote Anti-thesis, which proved to be successful beyond expectations. It has been estimated by some scholars that when Marcion died, more than half of Christianity was under the influence of his teachings.
The Bible that Marcion used, after he was excommunicated in AD 144 at the age of 60, rejected the Old Testament for, he said, the people and the prophets had been deceived by the Creator. Marcion also rejected most of the New Testament. In the end, his “Bible” included only the Gospel of Luke, and some of the epistles of Paul.
Is it any wonder that Polycarp (AD 69 -155), the famous bishop of Hippo called Marcion “The firstborn son of Satan”?
Tertullian (c. 155 – c. 254) said Marcion was “more savage than the beasts of that barbarous region” where he grew up (in northern Turkey).
Within 200 years of his death, the Marcionites were nearly extinct, but they did serve to stimulate the Christian community into considering what books should be called the Word of God.
In AD 367 Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria (Egypt) used the opportunity of his annual Easter Festal to explain what the Old and New Testament should consist.
For the books of the New Testament, he listed the same twenty-seven texts we have today and wrote, “These are the ‘springs of salvation’ so that anyone who is thirsty may be satisfied with the messages contained in them. Only in them is the teaching of true religion proclaimed as the ‘Good News.’ Let no one add to these or take anything away from them.”
The list provided by Athanasius in AD 367 did not settle the matter for everyone everywhere, but by the early 400’s the consensus of tradition was established.
In a letter in AD 414, Jerome accepted the list set forth by Athanasius, but also wanted to include the Letter of Barnabas because he was Paul’s traveling companion.
Since the days of Jerome (c.AD 342 – Sept 30, 420), the canon of our New Testament has been confirmed by history, tradition, and worship.
The same God who inspired men to write His words also guided His people in helping them recognize that which He inspired to be communicated to His church. And as such, we can have full faith and confidence in knowing we have exactly the books that were truly inspired, while also have assurance none of those inspired books have been omitted.
The Collected Works of Stanford E. Murrell 