I. The Canon Debated
There are undoubtedly some who are reading these words who might be
tempted to believe the study of Canon is dull . Perhaps, you think
of the Canon of Scripture as something only academics chat about in
dark, book-lined libraries. Maybe you believe that it is of little value
to your life as a believer. Well, if that is you, I want to say: draw closer. The doctrine of the God-breathed Word from
Another World is anything but dull (“A Word from Another World” was a favorite expression of my seminary professor and mentor, the
late Robert L. Reymond, Ph.D.). The phrase conveys, at once, a mystery,
a supernatural origin, and a revelation that necessarily transcends Man
and yet is mercifully accessible to Man. Yet, an incorrect or absent perception
about the Christian (and, in large part, Judeo-Christian) doctrine of the Canon of Scripture is hardly a new threat to the Faith. Nevertheless, few doctrines, once neglected, can have more destructive spiritual consequences. Canonicity represents the activity of God in the
Church in giving us his Word, recording that Word, and through the power
of the Holy Spirit, distributing that Word to the ends of the earth.
There has never been a time when we in the evangelical churches needed a
higher view of Scripture. Yet, we all recognize that we are living in a
dry land:
”Because God has made himself known in his Word, a commitment to a high
view of Scripture is of paramount importance. Yet, sadly, more and more
people—not only from outside the Church but also from within—are
denying the complete truthfulness of God’s Word” \cite{sproul2016inerrant}.
Knowing the canonical story behind the Holy Bible helps us defend the
Faith, and as the Lord opens hearts, it supports the advance of the
Kingdom of God. The Christian faith is not, firstly, about a feeling, a
religious duty, or a philosophy of life. Christianity is about Christ,
who is revealed as the Eternal Word in the flesh and revealed in the
supernatural Word written for our salvation \cite{palmergrant}.
It is in this sense that one approaches the Canon of Scripture. The
Canon of Scripture is a doctrine of divine origin. The Bible is as
miraculous as the creation of the heavens and the earth, an iron ax-head
floating on top of the water, the dead man Lazarus walking forth in his
burial winding-sheet, the Virgin birth, or the resurrection of our God
and Savior, Jesus #sChrist. This is how we must approach this critical
subject, but approach it we must. For there are priceless pearls of
great wisdom in the treasure chest of Canon of Scripture.
As I prepared to write this article for the benefit of the Body of
Christ, I imagined a fellow believer sitting before me and asking,
”Precisely what is it about the canon of Scripture that you think I
should know, and why?” I want to both posit that question and seek to
respond. That is a question that has, indeed, come to me over the years
of my vocation. So here are four truths we can know about the Canon of
Scripture to help us trust the Bible, defend the Faith, and unleash its
reality in our day.
II. The Canon Defined
The Canon of the Old Testament was set by the time of Jesus. \cite{bible1970old}Jesus
recognized the canonicity of the Old Testament, that is, the very
collection of books that you have in your Bible today. The doctrine of
Christ will naturally, effortlessly, cause the believer to develop a
high view of Scripture. Infallible and inerrant are just so
because Jesus believed it. Please make no mistake about it: Jesus is our
ultimate source of knowledge about the Canon of Scripture. Some
Scriptures in which Jesus appeals to the Word of God and declares
Himself as the authentication for the Canon of Scripture include Matt.
7:24-29, Mark
8:38, Luke
9:26, 8:21, John
8:31, 47, 51, 10:27, 12:47-50, 14:15, 21, 23f, 15:7, 10, 14, 17:6, 8, 17.
No one can deny that the New Testament is replete with examples of Jesus
and the Apostles referring to the Old Testament books as the very Word
of God. In a similar self-attesting way, the New Testament speaks of
itself as on par with the Old Testament Scriptures. By the time of the
early Church, the authentic epistles and histories (viz., the Gospels,
Epistles, and Acts) written by the Apostles and their aids were used and
received as the Word of God. This is because we must not suppose that
the early Church received these as divine by Man, but only by the power
of the Holy Spirit. We shall address this further as we move forward.
This leads me to attend to some essential foundation stones of the
canonicity of Holy Scripture before erecting any further points of
doctrine.
So, before we go any further, let us make sure we speak about the same
thing. Let us begin with definitions.
The Word “Canon”
Our English Word, ”Canon,” is derived from a Hebrew and Greek word
denoting a reed or a cane.\cite{kruger2013definition} So we would call it a ”ruler,” like the old
wooden ruler you had in your supplies for third grade. Canon ,
then, grew out of a word that means something straight, or somethingto keep straight , a standard of truth, the measure of reality:
“It came to be applied to the Scriptures, to denote that they contained
the authoritative rule of faith and practice, the standard of doctrine
and duty”\cite{easton1894illustrated}. In this way of thinking, the Canon of Scripture refers to
measuring the God-breathed truths revealed to men.
A Defense for of the Canon of Holy
Scripture
So, the word ”canon” is the accurate measurement of a thing against the
model in the most general meaning. In the case of Holy Scripture, the
written Word of God must equate to the Holy Spirit-inspired
(”God-breathed”) Word of God. This is the meaning of 2 Timothy 3:16:
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good
work (2 Timothy 3:16 NKJV).
Thus, the Word of God is Inscripturated by God, as the Reverend
Jonathan Witherspoon put it \cite{wolfe2016} imminent Presbyterian minister,
scholar, public theologian, Princeton president, and only clergyman to
sign the Declaration of Independence gave us solid and valuable work.
The eternal Word of God became flesh and became—for us, and our
salvation—the Word made accessible. Israel was prohibited from seeking
to know God by making images. Instead, we were to think thoughts after
God. The People of Israel were to meditate upon God through his Word,
which he gave them. Abundant life and eternal life came not from
manufactured religious attempts for atonement but rather through the
Word of God read, taught, preached, song, and shared with others,
beginning with our own families. Scholars such as the late Neil Postman
(2931–2003), a Jewish academic, and Jacque Ellul (1912-1994), a French
Christian and university professor, considered the age of image and
technology (i.e., image divorced from the personal exchange of ideas) as
threats to the Word and to postmodern man’s intellectual capacity to
read, synthesize different ideas, and make conclusions. Their
now-classic works, such as Postman’s Entertaining Ourselves to
Death , and Ellul’s La technique ou l’enjeu du siècle ( 1954),The Technological Society (1990) raises the concern that
deemphasizing reading, typography, and books, and reverting to
image-based communication is a significant regression to pre-Reformation
days. For God did not choose an image, but the Word to reveal Himself
and His plans. The Bible is God’s message to Man “in the form of the
written word.” This is quite different from learning the Gospel by stained glass
windows only (the case in the image-based societies before John
Wycliffe, Martin Luther, and other reformers. Instead, those sixty-six
books of the Old and New Testament are measured by an inerrant and
infallible standard, the very Word of God. So, we may say,