Jackson Gordon

4 How the Books of the New Testament Were Chosen

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  1. Introduction
    1. Common Misconceptions:
      1. Constantine’s Role: The claim that Emperor Constantine chose the books of the New Testament is false.
        1. Support: Christians were quoting the same books before and after Constantine’s reign.
      2. Athanasius’s Role: While Athanasius listed the 27 books in 367 AD, he was not creating the canon, but recognizing an existing one.
    2. The Core Idea: The Canon of the New Testament was created by God, not by human decree.
      1. Point: The books were written with authority and recognized from the beginning.
  2. The Authority of the New Testament Writers
    1. Paul’s Self-Awareness: Paul knew his writings were authoritative from the moment he wrote them.
      1. Apostolic Authority: Paul identifies himself as an apostle, commissioned directly by Jesus.
        1. Support: Gal 1.1 - not sent by men, but by Jesus Christ.
        2. Support: 1 Cor 14.37 - What Paul writes is a command from the Lord.
      2. Claim: Paul did not suddenly realize later that what he’d written was authoritative. He knew it in the moment he was writing it down.
    2. Peter’s Recognition: Peter acknowledged Paul’s writings as scripture.
      1. Support: 2 Pet 3.16 - Peter recognizes Paul’s letters as “scripture”.
    3. Gospel Authors’ Intent: The gospel writers also presented their works as authoritative.

      1. Mark’s Gospel: Begins with the “gospel of Jesus Christ” statement.

      2. Matthew’s Gospel: Starts with a genealogy connecting it to the Old Testament narrative and authority.

      3. Luke’s Gospel: Based on eyewitness accounts.

        Luke 1,1-4 1 Since many have attempted to compile an account concerning the events that have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as those who were eyewitnesses and servants of the word from the beginning passed on to us, 3 it seemed best to me also--because I ^[Here "because" is supplied as a component of the participle ("have followed") which is understood as causal] have followed all things carefully from the beginning--to write them ^[Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation] down in orderly sequence for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 so that you may know the certainty concerning the things about which you were taught.

      4. John’s Gospel: John declared himself as the eyewitness to what he had written (John-21).

    4. NT Wright’s Assertion: New Testament authors understood they were writing divinely inspired texts, shaping the church for the first time.
      1. The authors knew that they were writing texts to shape Spirit-led early churches.
  3. The Muratorian Fragment: An Early Witness
    1. The Text: The Muratorian Fragment is a document from the 2nd century AD.
      1. Value: This document helps show the process by which the earliest known Christian church viewed the scriptures.
    2. The Shepherd of Hermas:
      1. Context: Some Christians wanted to read this text publicly during gatherings.
      2. The Church’s Response: The church rejected it as an authoritative text.
      3. Reason: It was written after the time of the apostles.
        1. Key Point: The book was a newly written text by Hermas, a contemporary of the church, whose brother was a bishop of Rome.
      4. The Church’s Concern: Not about heresy but about apostolic authorship.
        1. Goal: It was not to include a text in the weekly reading that didn’t have the authority of the Apostles.
    3. Lesson Learned: The early church had a clear understanding, less than a century after the last book was completed, of the criteria for recognizing authoritative texts.
      1. The central issue wasn’t the book’s content, but the provenance of the authors.
      2. The early church were people that treasured and taught from the written word of God as it was given to them.
  4. The Martyrdom of the Scillitan Martyrs
    1. The Story: 12 Christians martyred in Carthage in 180 AD.
    2. Sparatus’s Testimony: When asked what he had in his “capsa” he replied, “Books and the letters of Paul.”
    3. Significance: These early Christians were shaped by the written word of God.
      1. The books at the center of their lives at this early point in church history, as far as we know.
  5. The Core of the Canon: Universally Accepted Books
    1. List of Books: Most of the books (20) were never questioned.
      1. The Four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
      2. Acts.
      3. The Letters of Paul:
      4. 1 John, Revelation.
    2. Foundational Truths: These core 20 books alone contain all the essential doctrines for trusting Jesus and following Him.
    3. Unquestioned Authority: These books were universally recognized from the start as coming from the apostles or their associates.
  6. The Debated Books and the Process of Discernment
    1. The Questioned Books:
      1. Seven Books: Books like Hebrews, James, 2 Peter, 2 & 3 John, and Jude were questioned at times.
    2. The Deciding Factor: Did it come from an eyewitness of Jesus or an associate of an eyewitness?
    3. The Story of Serapion and the Gospel of Peter:
      1. Serapion’s Role: Overseer in Antioch, who was asked about the Gospel of Peter.
        1. Decision: Serapion initially approved the text to be read in a church at Rossus.
      2. Serapion’s Discovery: Upon reading the text, Serapion found it contained errors.
        1. Issue: It suggested Jesus was not fully human.
        2. Conclusion: It could not have come from Peter the Apostle.
      3. Serapion’s Actions: He immediately traveled to Rossus to correct their error.
      4. Serapion’s Criterion: That Peter’s writings were in line with Orthodox church belief, and should reflect the full humanity and full divinity of Jesus Christ.
      5. Serapion’s Understanding: Serapion received the writings of the apostles as from Jesus himself
    4. How To Validate a Text:
      1. Compare text to writings known from the apostles or close associates.
      2. Ask: Does it follow the agreed-upon, orthodox, Apostolic understanding of the nature of God, and nature of Jesus?
  7. Athanasius and the Recognition of the Canon
    1. Athanasius’s Letter: Was not creating but confirming the accepted canon.
    2. The Foundation: He was confirming a consensus that had developed over time.
    3. The Guiding Principle: Whether a text originated from an Apostolic eyewitness of the Risen Lord Jesus or a close associate.
  8. Conclusion
    1. God’s Creation: The Canon of the New Testament was created by God, as He inspired the scriptures.
    2. Recognition of God’s Word: Recognized by the church, as those books were traced to the commission that Jesus made to the apostles.
    3. Ultimate Authority: The church did not make the decisions, they simply recognized the truth passed down via apostolic teaching.

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