How We Got the Bible: A Brief History of the Canon

Many people assume the Bible simply appeared, or that a group of bishops in the 4th century arbitrarily voted books in or out. Neither is true.

For the Old Testament, the Jewish community had already recognized its 39 books as authoritative Scripture well before the time of Jesus — He himself referred to the entire Hebrew canon as "the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms" (Luke 24:44).

For the New Testament, early Christians applied clear criteria: apostolic origin (written by an apostle or close associate), widespread acceptance across the churches, consistency with already-recognized apostolic teaching, and evidence of divine inspiration in transforming readers. By the mid-2nd century, the four Gospels, Paul's letters, and most other New Testament books were already being treated as Scripture — long before any formal church council addressed the question. The councils of the 4th century (like Carthage in AD 397) simply recognized and confirmed what churches had already been using for generations; they did not create the canon.

Understanding this history should increase our confidence: the Bible we hold today reflects the writings the earliest Christians themselves recognized as God's Word.