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 (Manna 56: Holidays)
Q & A

M56 Q & A

What does the term “canon” refer to?

The word “canon” comes from the root word “reed” (English word “cane”; Hebrew form ganeh and Greek Kanon). The “reed” was used as a measuring rod and eventually meant “standard.”1

The word “canon” applied to Scripture means “an officially accepted list of books.”2

How can we trust the canon, which was determined by man? Couldn’t the canon have left out some of God’s words or added books that were not God’s words?

If we believe that the Bible is indeed God’s word as it claims to be, then we ought to also believe these words: “For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled” (Mt 5:18). “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away” (Mt 24:35).

The canon was not the result of a rabbinical discussion or church council as some think it was. It was a gradual process through which God’s people upheld certain books as inspired and excluded others as the works of men. We must trust that God oversaw not just the writing but also the making of the Bible.

In addition, we have the endorsement of Christ Himself and the New Testament writers on the validity of the Old Testament canon. The early church also readily accepted the New Testament as the inspired word of God because of its apostolic authority. Therefore, based on our belief that the Bible is reliable and that the words of Jesus Christ, who is God Himself, are trustworthy, we can be confident that the Bible we have in our hands contains the same words that God intended when He moved the biblical writers to set His words down on paper. Nothing has been added or taken away.

 

1.        Josh McDowell, Evidence that Demands A Verdict, vol. 1 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1979), 29.

2.        Ralph Earle, How We Got Our Bible, (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1971), 31.

 

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