HOW DID WE GET THE NEW TESTAMENT

There is no record of Jesus or the apostles commissioning the church to compile the New Testament (canon of scripture). The early church mostly read the Old Testament during their service and various letters which were assumed to be of apostolic authorship. The church also operated within the five offices given by the Holy Spirit namely; the apostles, pastors, prophets, teachers, and evangelists.

The idea for a canon (New Testament) developed in the second century, though the church leaders had already been copying and distributing a collection of letters thought to be of apostolic authorship. Many of the early bishops of the church were fluently quoting in their writings the four gospels, the book of Acts, Paul’s letters, Peter, John’s letters, and Revelation; before any version of the canon was affirmed. These letters were written between 49 AD – 64 AD. John’s gospel, 3 letters, and letter of Revelation were written between 85-90 AD. During the first four centuries, the church gradually affirmed the authenticity of certain letters being considered for inclusion in the canon. The first known list of books (letters) which were considered canonical, appears around 180 AD. This list slightly changed through the second, third, and fourth centuries (as seen in the table below). The final canon was affirmed at the council of Carthage in 419 AD. Even though the canonization process took centuries; the books of the canon were being copied and read throughout the church as they were written; hence, the church was seldom almost never without the apostolic witness.

THE FIRST – SECOND CENTURY CHURCH SERVICE

From the start, the church service was well structured and organized. In a typical church service, the pastor would have read from the Old Testament; most often one of the prophets, and explained how the scripture pointed to Christ. He might also have read a letter from an apostle. He would then give a homily, encouraging the congregation in righteousness and faithfulness. Then the pastor led a time of prayer; and they would celebrate the Lord’s Supper. The Lord’s Supper was central to the church service. After this, the congregation sang a psalm or hymn, an offering was taken up for the poor. The deacons were sent out to deliver communion to the home-bound. These events are recounted in Justin Martyr’s 1st. Apology para. 67, and in the Didache. The Didache (The teaching of the twelve) is one of the oldest known church manuals, written between 50-70 AD.

By the early second century, the apostolic letters were much more available due to the development of codices. These codices became very popular, and an economical way to copy and widely distribute these apostolic letters.

EARLY CHURCH GOVERNMENT

Beginning with the apostles, the church was structured as a hierarchy or an episcopal form of government vs. a congregational form of government. The congregational form of church government is what we see among Evangelical churches today. All decisions in the early church were made by the bishop, and passed along to the local pastors. This form of government was said to have been established by the apostles. This hierarchy was necessary to ensure the unity of the faith, doctrinal consistency, and protection from heretical teachings. The apostles had appointed several bishops themselves, including Clement of Rome: [disciple of Peter and Paul], Ignatius of Antioch, and Polycarp of Smyrna: [both disciples of John]. These three men are referred to as the Apostolic Fathers, and part of a larger group known as the Church Fathers. Many of the Church Fathers were disciples of these three Apostolic Fathers; and passed down this succession of discipleship through the centuries. They played an important role in the canonization process.

TESTIMONY OF THE CHURCH FATHERS

We have relied on the opinions of the Church Fathers throughout the centuries, for authenticating the letters of the canon. Several of the Church Fathers had documented a list of letters which they thought were canonical. Their writings BTW, make an excellent commentary on the New Testament. Click here to see a flowchart of the Church Fathers. The testimony of these men is particularly valuable, because of their relationship and succession in discipleship to the apostles.

In addition to the Apostolic Fathers: Clement, Ignatius, and Polycarp, their own disciples were involved in the canonization process. Most notably Irenaeus, Hippolytus, Tertullian, Cyprian, Clement of Alexandria, and Origin. Their authentication, and three other criterion were used for determining which letters were to be considered canonical. These criteria were: 1. Did the letter align with the rules of faith (creeds), 2. Was the letter in harmony with what the church openly taught and agreed upon; 3. Was the letter unmistakably written by one of the twelve apostles.

EARLY CANONS OF SCRIPTURE

Before the second century, the letters of Clement of Rome, the Shepard of Hermas, the letter of Barnabas, the Didache (teaching of the twelve), the gospel of the Hebrews, and the gospel of Peter were read in many of the churches. Several of the Fathers thought they were inspired. The Shepard of Hermas was even in the first list of canonical books in 180 AD. The church eventually denied these five books as being canonical, but said they were worthy of reading in the congregation. A few of these letters were still read in different congregations in the Eastern Church through the seventh century.

The earliest list of canonical books was from the Muratorian Canon or Fragment (discovered by Lodovico Muratori), and dates back to 180 AD. Around 250 AD Clement, Polycarp, Ignatius, Justin Martyr, Tertullian, and Origin; each wrote lists of letters which they considered canonical. These lists were very similar. By 300 AD the church historian Eusebius, affirmed the lists of these aforementioned Fathers as well; and added the letter to the Hebrews to his list of canonical letters. Finally, the council of Carthage in 419 AD, affirmed all 27 letters of the canon, the same canon which we recognize today. Cyprian (a disciple of Tertullian), was the most notable Church Father who sat on this council.

Below are the lists of the canons throughout history, for your review. Notice that none of the Gnostic gospels or any other apocryphal books were ever considered for inclusion. These books never meet the criteria for canonization, and were the product of aberrant religious groups. In fact, the rise of the gnostic heresies was one of the motivating factors for codification of the inspired letters we call the Bible.

A similar process of approval by the rabbis, was employed for the Old Testament canonization as well.

COUNCIL CARTHAGE 400AD

Four Gospels

Acts

Romans

1-2 Corinthians

Galatians

Ephesians

Philippians

Colossians

1-2 Thessalonians

1-2 Timothy

Titus

Philemon

Hebrews

1-2 Peter

1-2-3 John

James

Jude

Revelation