How the Bible Grew

Roman Catholics disagree with NT believers over the composition of the Bible. At least two questions are involved:

1. Which books belong in the Bible? The RC Bible has the same NT that believers use, but includes seven additional books in the Old Testament (Tobit, Judith, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach, and Baruch), as well as some additions to Esther and Daniel.
2. What authority defines the correct set of books? Rome claims that it established the set of inspired books, originally at the Council of Rome in AD 382, and confirmed at subsequent councils (Hippo in 393, Carthage in 397 and 419, Florence in 1442), culminating in the Council of Trent in 1546.

I wrote this paper in 1974 on the first question, which contains many helpful details. This post adds a few observatons on the second question.

We should consider the OT and the NT separately.

The Formation of the Old Testament

By the time of our Lord, the Jews recognized the same set of OT books as the word of God that are in the non-RC Bible. They knew of the additional books, but did not consider them Scripture. The 1974 paper shows that our Lord recognized the identify of this Jewish OT and quoted it as authoritative in Luke 11:50-51 and Luke 24:44. An excellent scholarly study of the fixing of the books of the Old Testament by the Jews, and its adoption by the early church, is

John Beckwith, The Old Testament Canon of the New Testament Church. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1985

Our Old Testament was thus recognized by the time of our Lord, three centuries before any council made a statement on the matter.

The Formation of the New Testament

There is strong evidence that the books of the NT were similarly recognized as scripture before any church council made a declaration. A good scholarly study on this issue is:

John Barton, Holy Writings, Sacred Text. Lexington, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1997.

The evidence here is that people were quoting passages from NT books as authoritative long before the councils. In some cases,they were quoting them even in later NT books.

Two NT passages quote earlier parts of the NT as scripture.

1Ti 5:18 For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward.

Paul here claims that two statements are contained in “scripture.” The first, about the ox, is from the OT, Deut 25:4. But the second, about the labourer and his reward, is found nowhere in the OT. It is, however, a saying of our Lord in Luke 10:7. This verse shows that the teachings of our Lord were known and recognized as scripture, on a par with the law of Moses, by the time Paul wrote 1 Timothy, some time after the end of the book of Acts, and three centuries before the council of Rome.

2Pe 3:15 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; 16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.

Peter here refers to Paul’s letters, and compares the abuse they are suffering with how unbelievers people treat “the other scriptures.” Again, material that is now in our New Testament was already recognized as scripture, of the same authority as the OT, long before there were any church councils.

This recognition continued in the early church. This website contains a table showing which ancient authors and versions (mostly dated before the council of Rome) recognized which books as scripture. The 27 books of our New Testament are widely quoted with approval. Other books are only cited by a few authorities. These other books include 1 Clement, the Epistle of Barnabas, the Didache, and the Shepherd of Hermas, often cited to establish Roman Catholic teachings,

Our Lord promised that the Holy Spirit would guide his people into all truth (John 16:13). We believe, as the data in the ntcanon website and Barton’s work illustrate, that the Holy Spirit endorsed those books that contained the word of God to the believers as they gathered together, giving substantial agreement as to which books were authoritative, long before the “conversion” of Constantine in AD 312 (the beginning of the institutional Roman Catholic church).