The canon of the Bible was determined through consideration of apostolic authority, orthodox doctrine, and acceptance by the early church. While some texts were disputed, by the 4th century the 27 book NT canon was established. The Church Fathers including Clement, Origen, Eusebius, and Athanasius cited or referenced most or all of the 27 books. The Reformation led Protestants to reject the Apocrypha, though some found individual books like Hebrews or Revelation less authoritative. Despite textual variations over history, Christian doctrine remains consistent.

1. An Overview of
The Canon of Christ

2. What the Bible is not.
• The Bible was not written by the hand of Jesus.
• The Bible was not a book that literally fell out
of heaven.
• There is no ‘first edition’ of the Bible.

3. Defining Canon
• The word Canon simply
means a rod, rule or
measuring stick

4. How did we decide which were worthy
of canonization?
• Apostolic authority or associate of
apostle
– The canon has an intrinsic authority, which is
in contrast to the gnostic or other gospels
which asserted authority.
• Orthodoxy or true doctrine, which is
measured by the teachings of Christ
• Catholicity- accepted by the church

5. How did the ancient church deal with
forgeries?
• Once authorship was in question, the
text was discarded
• Some scriptures might be orthodox,
but failed on apostolic authority. Ex.
The epistle of Barnabas, 3
Corinthians, Pauls letter to the
Laodiceans.

6. When was the ‘first’ canon?
• Some credit the heretic Marcion for
deriving the notion of a canon.
• Muratorian Canon or Muratorian
Canon was written in approximately
170 A.D.
• Discovered by Ludovico Muratori in
1740

7. When was the ‘first’ canon?
• Included almost all NT text except
Hebrews, James, and 3 John
• Mentions Paul’s epistles to the
Laodiceans, the Alexandrians, and the
Shepard by Hermas, however,
acknowledges they are not to “be
published for the people in the Church”
– http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/mur
atorian-latin.html

8. When did we get the 27 books?
• “The New Testaments books are
not the sort that people could
actually determine that would be
in the NT but rather the sort of
books that no one could keep
from getting into the NT.” -Dan
Wallace

9. When did we get the 27 books?
• By the fourth century all 27 books
were accepted to be canon
• The Council of Hippo 393 A.D.-
John’s Revelation ‘officially’
accepted
• The Council of Carthage 397
A.D.(reaffirmed)

10. The Church Fathers and the Canon
• Clement of Alexandria (2nd
century) Bruce Metzger
“One finds in Clement's
work citations of all the
books of the New
Testament with the
exception of Philemon,
James, 2 Peter, and 2 and
3 John. (p. 131)”
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5c/Clement_alexandrin.jpg/1
60px-Clement_alexandrin.jpg

11. The Church Fathers and the Canon
• Origen (3rd century) -
succeeded Clement-
cites all new testament
books in his writings
Image: http://www.heavenlyascents.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/origen.jpg

12. The Church Fathers and the Canon
• Jerome- Commissioned by
Pope Damasus in 382 to write a
Latin version of the bible which
would be used by the church for
a 1000 years
– Separated canonical works from
the apocryphal
Image: http://transubstantiation.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/st-jerome-icon.jpg

13. The Church Fathers and the Canon
• Eusebius (3rd-4th century)-
“divides early Christian
documents into three
categories: 1) universally
acknowledged; 2) Disputed; and
3) Spurious.”
– http://www.biblicaltheology.com/Re
search/MartinezR01.html
Image:
http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/uploadedImages/Home/Articles/Biography/Articles/Eusebiu
s_of_Caesarea.jpg?n=1323

14. The Church Fathers and the Canon
• Athanasius (4th century)- Attended the Council of
Nicea-
– wrote the 39th Festal Letter of Athanasius (367 CE) which
affirms the 27 book NT Canon
– Disregarded the Apocrypha “the former are in the canon
and the latter serve as reading matter, yet mention is
nowhere made of the apocrypha; rather they are a
fabrication of the heretics, who write them down when it
pleases them and generously assign to them an early date
of composition in order that they may be able to draw upon
them as supposedly ancient writings and have in them
occasion to deceive the guileless.”

15. The Reformation and the Canon
• 1517 the Reformation “officially
began”
• Reformers typically considered
the Apocrypha as useful and
edifying, but ultimately dismissed
due to the lack of citation from the
27 NT books

16. The Reformation and the Canon
• Martin Luther- possessed a
low view of Hebrews (not
written by Paul or any other
disciples), Revelation
(neither apostolic nor
prophetic), James
(unapostolic), and Jude
(unapostolic).
– Broke up the NT into
generally received (first 23
books) and controverted
(last 4 books)
Image:http://a2.files.biography.com/image/upload/c_fill,g_face,h_300,q_80,w_300/MTE1ODA0OT
cxNzA3MjM3OTAx.jpg

17. The Reformation and the Canon
• “It was not until 1546, at the Council
of Trent, that the Roman Catholic
Church officially declared the
Apocrypha to be part of the canon
(with the exception of 1 and 2 Esdras
and the Prayer of Manasseh)”
–Important to note, because of certain
doctrines the Catholics derive from
these books

18. The King James Bible and the Canon
• Used only half a dozen later Greek
manuscripts
• Since the first version of the King
James bible there has been three
revisions with more than 100,000
changes
• Originally included the Apocrypha,
which was removed in 1885

19. Spiritual Gifts and the Canon
• Today the “speaking gifts” are emphasized when
describing the use of spiritual gifts in the church
• However, one should use great discernment
when being addressed by such people claiming
to possess gifts.
• If whatever is being presented to you is from
God, then it WILL (100%) align with the Bible
– Paul tells the Corinthians, “If any one thinks that he is
a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that
what I am writing to you is a command of the Lord” (1
Cor. 14:37).

20. Spiritual Gifts and the Canon
• The apostle’s words are equated with that of
the OT scriptures.
• Peter says, “So also our beloved brother Paul
wrote to you according to the wisdom given
him, speaking of this as he does in all his
letters. There are some things in them hard to
understand, which the ignorant and unstable
twist to their own destruction, as they do the
other scriptures” (2 Peter 3:15–16).

21. Conclusions
• With so many additions, subtractions,
alterations, and questions to the biblical texts,
one’s faith ought not to be shaken.
Fundamental and essential Christian doctrine
are not effected by such variations.
• The miracle of the bible is not that we have
one unchanged, unaltered Holy Book, like the
Muslims claim about the Quran, but that God
has spoken the same unified message
through many men