"Where did the Bible come from?" from the Summer 2017 Vision Newsletter

What books are currently filling up your bookshelves or devices? How many of them have been written by the One and only Creator of all things? The Bible is a testimony of the revelation of God. Its words should be read, studied, and utilized daily by all who have the desire to know God and are striving to become more like Jesus. No matter where we store our books, our copy of Holy Scripture should be opened each day and its words should be allowed to come alive in our hearts.

Over the course of many centuries, human experiences of God’s revelation and His acts in the course of the history of salvation have been recorded in writing. Already in the time after the Babylonian exile, that is, in the centuries before Christ’s birth, the writings concerning God’s acts, promises, and commandments were accorded great authority in Judaism, and were also called “Holy Scriptures” in the epistles of the New Testament. The second epistle to Timothy emphasizes that these Scriptures are based on divine revelation: “... that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3: 15–16).

The term “Bible” is derived from the Greek word biblia, meaning “books, scrolls.” The Bible is a collection of books from Old Testament times, which came into being over a span of more than 1,000 years, as well as books from the New Testament period, which were composed over a span of about 70 years.

The author of Holy Scripture is God, while its writers were human beings whom the Holy Spirit inspired (2 Peter 1: 20–21). God made use of their abilities to commit to writing that which was to be passed on in accordance with His will. Although the contents of the biblical books have their source in the Holy Spirit, they bear the mark of their respective writers and their perceptions of the world, in terms of style and form of expression. We trust that God has ensured that these texts have remained unadulterated over all this time.

The Bible is comprised of two main parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament. The term “Testament” derives from the promise of the “new covenant” recorded in Jeremiah 31: 31–341. While the writings of the Old Testament refer to the covenant that God made with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses, the writings of the New Testament testify of the new covenant, which God initiated with the sending of His Son. Both the Old and New Testaments testify of God’s plan of salvation for mankind and therefore are linked to one another. The designation, “Bible,” for the Old and New Testaments has already been in use since the ninth century.

The term “canon” (meaning “standard” or “guideline” in English), which was borrowed from the Greek language, is used to describe the collection of holy writings that have been binding on all Christendom since the middle of the fourth century.

The Christian canon of the Old Testament is based on the Hebrew canon of Judaism. Even by the time of Jesus and the early Apostles, Judaism did not yet have a firmly defined canon. Although there was a basic collection of holy writings (the Torah, the books of the prophets, and the Psalms), there were also other books which were accepted as holy by some Judaic groups, but rejected by others. The scope of the Hebrew canon was conclusively defined by the end of the first century AD. At that point in time, the Christian canon of the Old Testament was far from complete. To this day, there is no uniform canon of the Old Testament that is binding on all Christian churches.

For the early Christian congregation, today’s Old Testament comprised the actual Bible. In addition, the recorded “words of the Lord” (logia) soon came to be given special regard. The logia were at first passed on verbally. Even before any accounts of Jesus’ activity were ever recorded in writing, the congregations had various creeds and hymns in which the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ were professed. These also found their way into the writings of the Apostles. The oldest early Christian writings handed down to us are the letters of Apostle Paul. These were read aloud in the divine services and then passed along to neighboring congregations.

After the epistles of Paul, the Gospel of Mark is the oldest written testimony of Christian belief. The content and structure of the Gospels according to Matthew and Luke are closely related to it. In order to preserve the apostolic tradition, pass along its teachings, and distinguish it from false doctrines, it became necessary to prepare a collection of New Testament writings that would be binding upon the church. An Easter letter from Bishop Athanasius of Alexandria, dating from the year AD 367, lists all 27 writings of the New Testament as binding. This canon was ultimately ratified by the synods of Hippo Regius (AD 393) and Carthage (AD 397). The Old and New Testament canons did not come into being on account of human contemplations alone, but most of all through the will of God.

There are several other Gospels that were written that were not included as part of the New Testament canon. They contain various teachings or beliefs that are legendary and/or incompatible with the claims of the canonical Gospels. These writings, such as the book of Thomas, the book of Mary, and the Gospel of Philip, to name just a few, are not recognized in our church or in any other major organized Christian church because they were not accepted by the church councils of the past. The canonized Scripture provides us with enough teaching to keep us occupied and continually learning.

Throughout the writings of the Old Testament, we see evidence of Jesus, and then in the New Testament, we see how everything came together in the sacrifice and resurrection of the Son of God. This is why it is important to look at the Old Testament through the lens of the Gospel. Jesus Christ is the focus of Scripture and so we base our doctrine and beliefs on those texts that are consistent with the Gospel. We can focus on these statements and learn from Scripture when we are inspired by the Holy Spirit and allow Him to help us interpret what we find in the Bible. The Spirit also helps us to interpret a Bible verse based on its context, which is essential to its meaning. When we read Scripture with the Holy Spirit, He reveals to us God’s will and reminds us of the words of Jesus, so we can find relevance and meaning in passages with context that may seem out of touch with our own world.

Invite the Holy Spirit to read the Scripture with you each time you open its pages and experience how the words written thousands of years ago come to life and are relevant for today.