One compilation, two testaments. Sixty-six books. Thirty-nine books in one. Twenty-seven in another. Written over a period exceeding 1500 years. Although we often view the Bible as one book, it is actually a compilation of several smaller books that has been combined into one. The Bible didn’t start out as the collection we have today. This leads us to wonder how it was assembled. The Bible contains sixty-six volumes, but there were more books than sixty-six. So how did those books make it into the final version? According to the Bible, all Scripture is God-breathed (2 Timothy). 3:16. Let’s now see how God watched over His word to complete it and why you can trust the sixty-six books of the Bible that you are currently reading.
How was the Bible put together? (The Old Testament).
Let’s start by looking at the Bible’s construction. Let’s first look at the Old Testament. The Old Testament is the authoritative Word of God and there is less debate. The Old Testament can be divided into the Law and the historical books, poetry books, major prophets, and minor prophets. Moses wrote the Law, which is made up of five books from the Old Testament. Also known as the Pentateuch. It was immediately recognized as authoritative, and was used to guide Israel’s lives and worship.
The remainder of the Old Testament contains God’s words as he spoke them, but much of it is God’s spoken word. These were then transcribed, copied and passed down from one generation to another. It was an extremely meticulous process to pass down both oral and written information. Great care was taken to preserve God’s words. There were several key tests used to determine which books were to be included in the Old Testament scriptures.
The test for inspiration – Books that were written must be viewed as if they were inspired by the Holy Spirit.
The test for authorship Most of the authors of each book were people who had been divinely appointed to their offices. The majority of the authors were prophets, kings, judges and other people God appointed to their offices.
The test for consistency – Since the Old Testament was composed over a period of around one thousand years, it was crucial that there was consistency between previous writings. Important to remember that many of these authors were not acquainted with each other and did not have the ability to study the writings of others. Consistency was important because it corresponded with God’s previous words. This was only one example of God’s watchfulness over his word.
This was the test of reliability. It was very simple. Did the Israelites trust the word of God as the foundation for their beliefs and the way they live? It was crucial to identify which books belong in the Old Testament by the Israelites’ complete obedience to God’s word and the other tests.
The Old Testament books were established as reliable scriptures by the time Christ came. There were many other books that were written but they didn’t meet the same criteria. They were helpful for instruction and encouragement, but they weren’t considered scripture.
How was the Bible put together? (The New Testament).
The New Testament was also written by different writers, just like the Old Testament. The New Testament was written by nine authors, which took them only fifty years to complete. This compares to the one-thousand-year time it took to complete the Old Testament books. Written communication was much more common by the time the New Testament was written. You will find the New Testament pages proving that Jesus and other New Testament writers confirmed the authority of the Old Testament scriptures, as they frequently referred to them.
The manuscript evidence is one of the reasons that we can be confident in the accuracy and validity of the New Testament’s writings. Over 5,800 Greek manuscripts exist, and over 18,000 manuscripts have been translated into other languages. There are more manuscripts of the New Testament than any other ancient writing or literature. The manuscripts don’t necessarily make them the Word of God. However, they preserve the authenticity of the Bible that we have today by allowing us to compare what the New Testament writers wrote.
How were the Books of the New Testament Chosen?
Similar to the Old Testament, certain tests were administered to the New Testament books to confirm their inclusion in scripture. These tests were crucial in determining how the Bible was assembled. The New Testament books were established by three criteria.
Apostolic Origin– Much like the Old Testament writings the author of these works played an important role in their inclusion as part the Bible. Any writing that is to be included in the scriptures must be written by an apostle, or someone closely related to the apostle.
Agreement This was an important test, as we believe all Scripture is God-breathed. It must not contradict what God has already spoken in order for something to be considered God speaking it. God would be contradicting Himself if it did. For the New Testament writings to be considered divinely inspired, they must be in agreement with or not contradictory to the established scriptures.
Acceptance This was a test that was very similar to the Old Testament scriptures testing. These writings were they universally accepted by the early church and relied on? This did not only apply to a small portion of the church but the whole church. These tests were crucial in determining what was and wasn’t the word of God. Like the Old Testament writings there were other writings. However, they didn’t meet all criteria so they weren’t included in the Bible.
There were many arguments over the various books. While some might find this debate to be problematic, I think it is healthy. This is a sign that great care was taken to ensure the accuracy of the writings. It also shows the desire to be certain that we have the exact Bible God intended to reveal about his plans for salvation.
The Bible is the work of God
This lens is essential if you are going to continue your research on this topic. It wasn’t the church, councils, or members of church that decided which books were included or how the Bible was assembled. The Bible is not God’s work, it is God’s. Men played a role in writing under the Holy Spirit’s inspiration and being guided by the Holy Spirit to determine which books he inspired. The tests were only guidelines that helped us to conclude what God had already established. The Bible was finally assembled and the books chosen by God because they were the ones He wanted to reveal to the world. He used men to complete it. However, he watched over it and that is why the Bible we have today can be called the Word of God.
One book is the Bible, which was created by one author, God. He enabled many men to use the Holy Spirit to translate what was in his mind into writing, so that we could understand what he meant to say. Although there are many writers out there, there is one author who has given his word to us. Because God is the author and creator of his word, you can feel confident in the way the Bible was assembled, as he was the one who made it all possible.