Scriptural Background
The Old Testament closed with a warning of judgment (Malachi 2:2) and the promise of a Messiah (Malachi 4:2). And then waiting. Four hundred years of silence from God . . . until the fulfillment of the greatest event in history—the coming of the Messiah.
The New Testament—reflecting the fulfillment of the promised Messiah through Jesus Christ—was written primarily by the apostles. In John 14:26 we find that Jesus empowered the apostles through the Holy Spirit to recall, write, and interpret his life, words, and deeds. Jesus said, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” Jesus again promised his apostles a special revelation of truth through the Holy Spirit in John 16:13: “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the
truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.”
The Apostle John verifies himself as an eyewitness to the events he wrote about: “This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true” (John 21:24). And God officially warns against tampering with Scripture—admonishing that no words be added to or taken from this
sacred book (Revelation 22:18–19). We can be confident that the writings of those empowered by Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit are inspired, inerrant, and infallible.
As the New Testament letters began to be gathered and read throughout the church, we find evidence that they were already being included as part of the Old Testament canon and described as “Scripture.” The Apostle Peter makes such a claim about Paul’s writings in 2 Peter 3:15–16 when he puts Paul’s epistles in the same category as the “other Scriptures.”
We can rest assured that the New Testament canon has now completed the Word of God. We are reminded of this truth through biblical, historical, and archaeological findings. Not only that, we know it is God’s Word because as we read it, we hear God’s voice throughout every book—and as children of God we never tire of it. It is the Word of our Creator God—
revealing the divine power that grants us everything needed to live a life of godliness through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord (2 Peter 1:3).
Historical/Apologetics Background
In his divine providence, God, not man, has determined through the Holy Spirit the books that make up the Bible. The early church, shortly after Christ’s death and resurrection, had no discussion about what made a book equal to the Old
Testament Scriptures. It was universally accepted that if a letter came from Peter or Paul, it was deemed Scripture.
However, it wasn’t long before people began to add their own letters, thoughts, ideas, and gospels—desiring to fill in the gaps with what they believed should be included. Because of this, during the first 200 years of church history, certain questions were adopted to serve as the litmus test for the books added to the Bible. Those questions are:
• Was the book or letter written by an apostle or under the direction of an apostle?
• Did the writing resound with the truth of God? Did it speak with the voice of authority as the Word of God and not the words of men?
• Were these writings used from the earliest of times? Attempts to include other writings from much later dates have been made. They have been rejected because the material is too new to have been apostolic.
• Did most churches accept these writings as the New Testament canon? Before the middle of the first century, 20 of the 27 books of the New Testament were universally accepted. And only a few churches questioned the other books.
• Did the writings conform to what the church taught? Because there was general agreement as to what the Christian message actually was, this question ruled out false teachings attempting to taint the truth.
All of the books of the Bible regarded as Scripture have been examined according to these questions, and have proven to be the Word of God. Yet still today we see that people attack the authenticity and reliability of the Scriptures. The Bible is increasingly regarded as irrelevant due to the apathy of our culture toward things of God and especially his Word.
Consequently, we hear very little about the history of the Bible. As we take a quick look at the books of the New Testament below, remember that these books stood the test based on the questions mentioned above as they were included in the canon ofthe New Testament.
• The Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John provide accounts of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection during his three-year ministry. Matthew, Mark, and Luke were written between AD 55 and 68; John was probably written in the 90s.
• The book of Acts provides an account of the history of the early church and the spread of Christianity after Christ’s resurrection. Acts was writtenby Luke in the mid-60s.
• The Pauline epistles—Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon are 13 pastoral letters written by Paul as he endeavored to grow Christ’s church in truth
and sound doctrine. These letters were written between AD 51 and 65.
• The General epistles—Hebrews, James, 1 & 2 Peter, 1, 2 & 3 John, and Jude are letters written to believers by five different people. They include doctrinal and practical advice and were sent out to churches. These letters were written from the
late-40s (James’ letter) to the 90s (John’s letters).
Most of the New Testament books were added to the Old Testament Scriptures by the early church and were considered the complete inspired canon around 150 AD—this is called the Muratorian Canon. However, due to false teachers and further attempts to change this compilation, other councils—general meetings of the Christian church—met to eliminate any confusion and bring unity to the church. The Council of Carthage in 397 finally affirmed publicly
that the 66 books we have today were the divinely inspired Word of God—not to be added to or taken away from (Proverbs 30:5 –6; Revelation 22:18–19).
Studying God’s Word
Introduction
Last week we talked about how the Old Testament canon came to us.
? How did Jesus use the Old Testament Scriptures on the road
to Emmaus with the two disciples?
He showed them how he was present throughout the Old Testament, looking to it as an authoritative source.
? How did the account we read in Jeremiah confirm what we learned about
“holy men of God” recording God’s words?
Jeremiah spoke the words he heard from God while Baruch actually wrote with ink on the scroll. This aligns nicely with the 2 Peter 1:19–21 verses.
? What two evidences for the preservation of Scripture did we discuss?
Even though Jehoiakim burned the scroll with the prophecy from Jeremiah, it
was recorded again, along with many other words, and we have that record
today. Also, the Dead Sea Scrolls give great confirmation of the accuracy of the
transmission of the Old Testament text.
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The Holy Spirit Will Teach You
John 14:25–26
? Where and when did this take place?
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? Who are the characters?
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? What type of literature is this?
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? Are there any figures of speech in the text?
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? What does the passage tell us about the Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit?
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? What other name identifies the Holy Spirit in this passage?
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? What specific role is the Holy Spirit responsible for?
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? What event is anticipated by “while I am still with you”?
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? What is the main point of the passage?
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Discover the Truth
? What impact does this passage have on our understanding of how the
New Testament authors produced their writings?
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? If you tried to write an account of something that happened 10 years
ago, would you get all of the details correct?
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? So what makes these writings, which are describing historical events,
different from what one of us would write?
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A Common Thread Activity
Luke 1:1–4 (Luke speaking about himself and other witnesses)
1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us,
2 just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us,
3 it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus,
4 that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.
Acts 1:1–3 (Luke writing about the apostles witnessing Jesus after the resurrection)
1 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach,
2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.
3 He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.
2 Peter 1:16–18 (Peter describing his witness of the transfiguration)
16 For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
17 For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,”
18 we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain.
1 John 1:1–3 (John describing the experience of the apostles with Jesus)
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—
2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us—
3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.
1. What is the common thread in these passages?
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2. How can this be combined with the truth from John 14:25–26 to make a powerful argument for the
authority of the New Testament?
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John 14:25–26 25
These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy
Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all
that I have said to you.
John 21:24-25 24
This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these
things, and we know that his testimony is true. 25 Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were
every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be
written.
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Don’t Add or Take Away
Revelation 22:18–19
? Who is the author?
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? Who is the audience?
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? What are the two commands in this passage?
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? What are the consequences described for violating the commands?
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? Are there other passages in Scripture that relate to this passage?
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? What is the biblical and historical context of the passage?
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? What is the main point of the passage?
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Discover the Truth
From this passage we see a clear warning against adding to or taking
away from the words of God. We said that the warning in verse 18
specifically applies to this writing, but is it proper to extend this warning
to the entirety of Scripture?
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? Is this a verse that supports the closing of the canon (remember that the
canon is the list of books included in the Bible)?
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Deuteronomy 4:2, 12:32; Proverbs 30:6
? Were the books included in the New Testament put there because
they were authoritative, or are they authoritative because they were
included in the canon?
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Application
? How was the Holy Spirit involved in the recording of the New Testament?
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? What common thread do we see with all of the New Testament writers?
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? It is commonly claimed that the Bible was compiled by the Council of Nicaea in AD 325 by influential people, especially the Roman Emperor Constantine. How would you respond to such claims?
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? How do we respond to claims that the New Testament was written
hundreds of years after the lives of the apostles?
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? How does what we have discussed today challenge ideas that you
may have had about the New Testament?
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? What about today’s lesson gives you encouragement or assurance about
your faith?
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? What questions have been raised by this lesson? What will you do (or
what can I help you with) to answer these questions?
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Group Prayer Time
• Praise God for giving us a revelation of himself and the life of Christ.
• Ask God to open up truths in his Word as the students study through
the week.
• Thank God for truth and wisdom as the students share what they are
learning with friends and coworkers.