How We Got Our Bible

There is another important reason why we can trust the accuracy of our Bibles today. That is because God has said that He will preserve His word to all generations (Psalm 119:89,152,160). We can have full confidence that God has not allowed His word to be lost or to be changed in any significant way.

From the beginning there was general agreement about what books should be included in the New Testament canon.² By 200 A.D. the New Testament contained essentially the same books that we have in our present Bibles. However, there was disagreement over several books, and this disagreement persisted until the 4th century. In particular, some Christians questioned whether Hebrews, James, 2 Peter, 2 and 3 John, Jude, and Revelation should be included in the New Testament. In addition to that, there were other non-biblical writings written by Christian leaders at the turn of the first century, which some people thought should be included in the canon but others thought should not be. By the end of the 4th century, however, all these disagreements had been resolved, and the worldwide church unanimously accepted the present New Testament canon and made it official. Since then, there has been no disagreement on any part of the New Testament canon.

The decision as to which books should be included in the New Testament was based on four factors. First, a book had to have been written either by an apostle or the close associate of an apostle. Second, the contents of the book had to be of high spirituality and to be in agreement with the teaching of the Old Testament and the apostles. Third, the book had to be accepted by the great majority of the churches. Fourth, the book had to be clearly inspired by God. In determining what books to include, the early church was guided by the Holy Spirit. It wasn’t a matter of men deciding on their own what books they wanted in their Bible. Rather, it was a matter of men being shown by the Holy Spirit what books were indeed God’s word.

The Bible is different from other books because the writers of the Bible were directly inspired in a special way by God Himself. God’s Holy Spirit guided the writers of the Bible to write what God wanted them to write (see 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21 and comments). The Bible is not only the words of men; it is the word of God Himself.

However, God used men to write His word. God didn’t dictate each word. The writers of the Bible, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, used their own minds to write. Their individual personalities and character can be seen through their writings. Just as Jesus Himself was both God and man together, so the Bible is both God’s word and man’s word together. It was written by men who knew God’s mind in a special way. God revealed His mind to them, and they wrote according to what God revealed to them. It is true that other Christian writers have been inspired by the Holy Spirit in a general way and have written books pleasing to God; but they have not had the same special knowledge of God’s mind that the Bible writers had. For this reason, then, the Bible is different from all other books: it is the only revealed and authoritative word of God.

Because the Bible is God’s word, it is totally true. It is without error. Some have at times thought they found an error in the Bible, but later have discovered it was they who were in error, not the Bible. Time and again, historical and archeological discoveries have confirmed the truth of the biblical writings. The Bible is historically and scientifically trustworthy in every regard.

When we say that the Bible is “without error,” we mean that the original manuscripts were without error. Those original manuscripts were later copied by scribes many times down through the centuries; and in the course of their copying, a few small scribal errors did occur. However, none of these scribal errors affects the essential meaning of the text.

Concerning the historical and scientific trustworthiness of the Bible, we need to keep two things in mind. First, in the Old Testament there is much poetic and figurative language, which is not meant to be taken literally. Second, by its very nature, man’s historical and scientific knowledge is always incomplete. We are always learning new things about God’s universe and about God’s unfolding purposes in history. What we can rely on, however, is that the biblical writers wrote according to the knowledge God gave them at the time and that what they wrote was without error.

However, it is not enough to read the Bible in the same way we would read a history or science book. It is not enough to read the Bible only with our minds. We must also read the Bible with our spirits, or else we will miss the deep spiritual truths of the Bible. When we read the Bible, we must humble ourselves and open our minds to receive God’s truth. We must pray for spiritual understanding. When we do this in faith, then the Bible will come alive for us and will change our lives.

It is the Holy Spirit who makes the Bible “alive” and powerful in the heart of the reader (2 Corinthians 3:6). Those who have the Holy Spirit living within them know in their own experience that the Bible is the true and living word of God. From the Bible they can know with certainty who God is and who Christ is. They also know from the Bible what God has done. The Old Testament is the record of God’s reaching out to men and of men’s disobedience and sin. The Old Testament shows clearly that men are sinners in need of a Savior. The New Testament reveals a God who loved men so much that He Himself came to earth in the likeness of a man, Jesus Christ, to suffer and die in order to save men from their sins and give them eternal life.

It is hoped that as the reader studies this commentary, he will let God speak to him through the Scriptures. It is not enough only to understand the Bible; we must also live by it.

¹ Papyrus is a tall water plant native to Egypt. Thin slices of the stalk of this plant were laid together, and then another layer was crossed on top of the first layer. Papyrus was the main kind of “paper” in use up until the 3rd century A.D.

² The New Testament canon is the list of officially authorized Scriptures that has been accepted by all Christian churches.