This article is the third in a series of four blog posts which seek to summarise and simplify the Biblical canon story. Parts 1 and 2 are available on this site.
New Testament
It is worth noting that by the end of the first century AD, all the twenty-seven documents that now constitute the New Testament were written and had begun to; circulate among early Christians. It would, however, take some centuries later for these texts to be collectively named, as part of the inspired body of Christian scripture, alongside the Old Testament scripture.
By the time of the early Church, the authentic Gospels, Epistles, and the book of Acts written by the Apostles were used and received as the Word of God. For instance, the “Papyrus 45” manuscript which was discovered in the 1930s, dates to somewhere between the late second and early third centuries. This manuscript was originally 220 pages, but only thirty survive. The manuscript along with others like “Papyrus 46” demonstrate that the early church made attempts to collect their canonical texts into single book forms. The “Papyrus 46” which dates to the second century contains eight of Paul’s letters and Hebrews. Actually, many in the early church thought Hebrews was authored by Apostle Paul, so it was often lumped in with his other letters.
So, in fact, regarding the New Testament, there appears to be a core collection of a set of scriptural books—approximately 22 out of 27—functioning as Scripture by the middle of the second century. These included the four gospels, Acts of the Apostles, the thirteen epistles of Paul, Hebrews, 1 Peter, 1 John, and Revelation. Books that were “disputed” tended to be the smaller books such as 2 Peter, Jude, James, and 2-3 John. Why were these books disputed? We shall look at the reasons in a later article.
Even so, it also seems Christians were using New Testament writings as Scripture even before the second century. For instance, the epistle, 2 Peter refers to Paul’s letters as “Scripture” (2 Pet. 3:16). This suggests that a collection of Paul’s letters was already in circulation and were regarded as of the same value and authority as the Old Testament books. Similarly, 1 Timothy 5:18 cites a saying of Jesus as Scripture: “the laborer deserves his wages.” The only known match for this saying is Luke 10:7, which reads, “And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house.”
Interestingly, by the middle of the second century, it is said that Justin Martyr had the fourfold Gospel collection that was read in worship alongside Old Testament books. Again, by the time of Irenaeus, the Bishop of Lyons in the late second century, there existed a nearly complete, New Testament collection. The canon at this time, as earlier stated, consisted of about 22 out of 27 New Testament books.
Broadly speaking, the process of canonization occurred in three overlapping stages:
- In the first and second centuries, there was no formally closed group of authoritative Christian literature. The four Gospels, several Pauline letters, 1 Peter, and 1 John were widely used and highly regarded by many early Christians.
- In the second through early fourth centuries, additional Christian writings were composed and read alongside the aforementioned documents. Debates regarding the authoritative status of newly composed texts, such as the Shepherd of Hermas, continued well into the fourth century. While there still did not exist any formally closed canon during this period, the scope of the church’s authoritative writings was beginning to solidify as individual texts began to be consciously grouped into collections. One reason for this growing canon consciousness was the discovery of some other texts which were deemed heretical by early church leaders.
- In the fourth and fifth centuries, many lists of canonical books were drafted by church leaders. The first of such lists to advocate the exclusive use of the twenty-seven books that now comprise the New Testament was written in the year AD 367. This list was later ratified by several church councils in subsequent years, effectively closing the New Testament canon for many Christians.
References
Becerra, D. (2019). “The Canonization of the New Testament,” in New Testament History, Culture, and Society: A Background to the Texts of the New Testament, ed. Lincoln H. Blumell (Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2019), 772-786.
Cook, B. H. (2020, November 8). Is Josephus Reliable? | Answers in Genesis. Answersingenesis. https://answersingenesis.org/bible-history/is-josephus-reliable/
Duvall, J. S., and J. Daniel Hays, J. D. (2001). Grasping God’s Word: A Hands-On Approach to Reading, Interpreting, and Applying the Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
How and when was the canon of the Bible put together? | GotQuestions.org. Gotquestions. https://www.gotquestions.org/canon-Bible.html
Raymond B. and Longman III (1994). An Introduction to the Old Testament. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
Soroski, J. (2019, January 31). What Does “Bible” Mean and How Did it Get That Name?. Biblestudytools. https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/explore-the-bible/what-does-bible-mean.html
The Content and Extent of the Old Testament Canon | Bible.org. Bible. https://bible.org/article/content-and-extent-old-testament-canon
Leasure, R. (2022, May 16). How We Got Our Bible: Manuscript Tradition. https://crossexamined.org/how-we-got-our-bible-manuscript-tradition/
Apostle Benedict Eghan is a Minister of the Gospel with The Church of Pentecost and is currently the Resident Minister of Pentecost International Worship Centre (PIWC), Tesano. He also doubles as the Personal Assistant to the Chairman of The Church of Pentecost, Apostle Eric Kwabena Nyamekye. Read More…