Home > History > Church History > Canon

CANON

Because The Da Vinci Code calls into question the documents that are included in our Bible, it's important to understand how those documents were selected. Charles Ryrie is worth quoting at length on this subject.

The Meaning of Canon

The word canon means rule or measuring rod, and in relation to the Bible it refers to the collection of books which passed a test of authenticity and authority; it also means that those books are our rule of life. How was the collection made?

The Tests for Canonicity

First of all it is important to remember that certain books were canonical even before any tests were put to them. That's like saying some students are intelligent before any tests are given to them. The tests only prove what is already intrinsically there. In the same way, neither the church nor councils made any book canonical or authentic; either the book was authentic or it was not when it was written. The church or its councils recognized and verified certain books as the Word of God, and in time those so recognized were collected together in what we now call the Bible.

What tests did the church apply?

1. There was the test of the authority of the writer. In relation to the Old Testament, this meant the authority of the lawgiver or the prophet or the leader in Israel. In relation to the New Testament, a book had to be written or backed by an apostle in order to be recognized. In other words, it had to have an apostolic signature or apostolic authorization. Peter, for instance, was the backer of Mark, and Paul of Luke.
   
2. The books themselves should give some internal evidences of their unique character, as inspired and authoritative. The content should commend itself to the reader as being different from an ordinary book in communicating the revelation of God.
   
3. The verdict of the churches as to the canonical nature of the books was important. There was in reality surprising unanimity among the early churches as to which books belonged in the inspired number. Although it is true that a few books were temporarily doubted by a minority, no book whose authenticity was doubted by any large number of churches was later accepted.

The Formation of the Canon

The canon of Scripture was, of course, being formed as each book was written, and it was complete when the last book was finished. When we speak of the "formation" of the canon we actually mean the recognition of the canonical books by the church. This took time.

The first church council to list all twenty-seven books of the New Testament was the Council of Carthage in AD 397. Individual books of the New Testament were acknowledged as Scripture before this time (2 Peter 3:16; 1 Timothy 5:17) and most were accepted in the era just after the apostles (Hebrews, James, 2 Peter, 2 and 3 John and Jude were debated for some time). The selection of the canon was a process that went on until each book proved its own worth by passing the tests for canonicity (Ryrie, C. C. 1995, c1972. A Survey of Bible Doctrine. Moody Press: Chicago).

For more information on the eyewitness accounts of Christ and the faithful transmission of the Bible, see TRANSMISSION.