The Old Testament books that comprised the written Scriptures during Jesus’ ministry began to be added to as the Holy Spirit inspired apostles and their associates to commit the preached word to written documents. In the course of their lifetime, those who were eyewitnesses to the ministry of Christ along with some of their close associates were inspired by the Holy Spirit to write four Gospels which bear witness to God’s incarnate Word.
The missionary outreach of the gospel through the ministries of witnesses like Paul, Peter, James and Jude occasioned inspired letters or epistles to be written.
In addition the early record of the advance of the gospel was committed to a written record through the efforts of Luke. Thus the book of Acts, recording some of the acts of some of the apostles, was added to the Gospels and epistles as part of the written Word of God.
‘By way of reminder’
The practical necessity for the written Word was the passing away of the eyewitnesses, resulting in the need for what Peter explained in 2 Peter 1:13–15: “I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.”
The reality that the eyewitnesses of Christ’s ministry would not live indefinitely necessitated a permanent account in the written Word of God. Those writings soon became recognized as divinely inspired and as containing the continuation of the unfolding truth of God that Jesus said would follow His own earthly ministry. Early churches began reading these writings and recognized in them the inspiration of the Spirit of truth and accepted them alongside the Old Testament books as God’s inspired and authoritative Word.
The Church has used the term “canon” to speak of God’s written Word. This term comes from a Greek word meaning “rod,” a straight stick such as might be used as a standard for measuring. The Canon of Holy Scripture is the books comprising the Bible which are the writings inspired by God as His authoritative Word, the standard by which all truth claims are to be measured.
‘Closed canon’
Christians have commonly added an adjective to this term and speak of the Bible as a “closed canon.” This phrase means Christians generally hold that only the original books of the Bible constitute the written Word of God. Later religious writings do not possess the nature of Holy Scripture and thus should not be received as authoritative for belief and practice.
With the Old Testament written in Hebrew and the New Testament in Greek, these canonical writings were subsequently translated into other languages. Copies were handwritten for centuries before the invention of the printing press made possible their mass production. The written Word is now available in uncounted languages and dialects as well as in multiple translations and paraphrases. Its availability has kept pace with the invention of modern means of communication such as audio recordings and electronic editions.
It is good to hold fast to a belief that the Bible is the God-written Word but it is better to act on that belief by reading, studying, obeying and sharing it.
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