Sermon Tone Analysis

Intro: Good evening, We are glad you have come out tonight, I hope you leave here with more knowledge about the Bible than when you arrived.

I also hope you leave here wanting to learn more, because what we are going to do here tonight will just scratch the surface on the topic of the canonicity of the Bible.

My goal here tonight for us, is that we leave here with a better understanding of what we mean when we say

The canonicity of the Bible, what do we mean when we say canon?

Look at the canonicity of the Old Testament and the books included in the Old Testament Canon.

Look at the canonicity of the New Testament and the books included in the New Testament Canon.

We have some time tonight, I am hoping to spend 15 min on point 1, 30 min on point 2, and 30 min on point 3 and then if we have time we will open it up for questions and hopefully between me and others we can get your questioned answered tonight, if not we will research.

I. What do we mean when we say canon?

A. The meaning of the word “canon”

The word “canon” comes form the Greek kanōn, which is derived from the Hebrew qāneh.

It originally meant a reed and came to mean something firm or straight.

In Greek it was used for a rod or a stick for drawing a straight line, or measure, what we would call a level or a ruler.

This word took on a metaphorical meaning, which is a standard or rule.

B. Metaphorical Meaning

Through the years, culture, and usage the word took on more of a metaphorical meaning as the standard or rule of measurement, the early Christians would use the term “rule of faith”.

Canon became the term we use to describe the books which are inspired by God which should be distinguished from all other writings.

We read in 2 Tim 3:16

2 Timothy 3:16 (ESV)

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

Toda Escritura es inspirada por Dios y útil para enseñar, para reprender, para corregir, para instruir en justicia,

All Scripture “πᾶσα γραφὴ”, pasa - all, graphe meaning writing/scripture is inspired by God.

As the church grew books started to be recognized as inspired by God and were functioning as Scripture in the church, just like the Old Testament was used by Jesus and the Apostles and the first disciples, the early Christians were using and viewing the books of the New Testament as Scripture, on the same level as the Old Testament.

2 Peter 3:15–16 (ESV)

And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters.

There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.

y considerad la paciencia de nuestro Señor como salvación, tal como os escribió también nuestro amado hermano Pablo, según la sabiduría que le fue dada.

Asimismo en todas sus cartas habla en ellas de esto; en las cuales hay algunas cosas difíciles de entender, que los ignorantes e inestables tuercen—como también tuercen el resto de las Escrituras—para su propia perdición

Here is Peter, referring to Paul and putting him on the same level as the Old Testament Scriptures.

C. A Multi Dimensional Approach to the Canon.

(Michael Kruger)

When we talk about canon, there are two different ways of thinking about the canonicity of the Bible.

The first is establishment, and this school of thought says the canon was established by the church, the church through the various councils throughout church history has established the canonicity of the Bible.

The second school of thought would say the church doesn’t establish the canon, but recognizes the canon.

This school of thought would say the church doesn’t necessary establish the canonicity of the Bible, but they recognize the books which are inspired by God which should be in the canon.

This school of thought is how most protestant Christians think, when it comes to the canonicity of the Bible.

There are different approaches to the canon of the Scripture.

Here are three we will refer to tonight.

1. Exclusive Definition - This idea originated from AC Sundberg in 1968

He pointed out that there is a sharp distinction the terms “Scripture” and “canon” and based on this made the case that we cannot make speak of the canonicity of the Bible until the fourth century, when the canon was discussed at the council of Carthage AD 397.

Even though Scripture existed, the exclusive definition would argue that the idea or terminology of canon should not be used until the process has been closed.

In this view the list of canonical books must be formulated and closed so that nothing can be added or taken away.

This view helps us see the process and captures the reality of the amount of time it took to solidify a canon and helps us see the church’s role in recognizing books that were canonical.

For me, there are a few problems I have with this view, the main problem is the distinction it makes between the idea of Scripture and canon, almost as if there was a stage of Scripture and a stage of Canon, and what happened at the Council of Carthage in AD 397 represents a profoundly different stage, especially in the development of the New Testament.

While there was a broad concensus in the 4th century and the boundaries of the canon began to solidify.

It is wrong to assume there is a difference between Scripture and canon.

We have already pointed out where Peter speaks of Paul on the same level of the Old Testament.

All of the OT and the 4 Gospels and Pauls letters were recognized as authoritative for centuries before the ad 397.

What this view implies is that the Council of Carthage increased the authority of these books when they were accepted as canonical and it also implies that there can be no canon without the official action of the church.

2. The Functional Definition -

Someone, by the name of Childs came along and said, I disagree with the exclusive definition.

He said the term canon should not only refer to the final closed list, but it should refer to the whole process of canonicity.

Childs would say as soon as a book is regarded as or functions as Scripture by the early Christian churches then the term canon should be applied.

Childs would say there is very little difference between the idea of Scripture and canon, they are mostly identical.

While this view goes further than the previous, there are issues we have to consider before its full acceptance.

There were books the early church used which functioned as Scripture in their communities, but those books are not part of our NT.

Books like the Didache, The Shepherd of Hermas, the Apocalypse of Peter.

The functional view can lead to problems because these books functioned as Scripture, so should they be canonical?

the greater problem with the functional and exclusive view is they fail to speak to what the canon is, by nature.

The functional tells us what it does in the church and the exclusive tells us that the canon can not exist it it is closed and the church has given its final approval.

3. Ontological Definition

Ontological describes what something is by nature, while the functional view tells us how the Scripture functioned in community and the exclusive view points out the importance of the final, closed list of the canon.

The ontological approach focuses on what the canon is by nature, which is “the authoritative books that God gave his corporate church.”

What his view does is looks at canon through a theological lens vs an ecclesiological lens.

This view would state that books do not become canonical based on how a church uses them or approves of them.

Books are canonical because God has given them as a permanent guide to the community of faith.

This view would state as soon as a book of the Bible was written, it is canonical because it was inspired by God.

Michael Kruger points out that the ontological view doesn’t argue that it should be the only view of canon, but that we should have a multidimensional approach to the canon.

That all three of these views make important claims about the canon and they should be integrated because it provides a better balanced and complete view of the canonicity of the Bible.

This multidimensional approach would look like this;

(1) The canonical books are written with divine authority;

(2) The books are recognised and used as Scripture by early Christians;

(3) the church reaches a consensus around these books.

II.

The OT Canon

Before we start, let me just point out, we as Christians refer to the first 39 books of the Bible as the Old Testament, Testament means covenant, so we refer to it as the Old Covenant and because we believe Jesus is the messiah who establishes a new covenant.

Jewish people do not refer to the the first 39 books as the Old Testament, that is a distinctly Christian idea.

WIth that said lets talk about the Old Testament Canon.

A. Canon Formation

Our knowledge of the formation process of the OT is limited because we do not have ancient documents from the scribes which give us the details concerning the process of the OT canon.

While we do not have details we know it was long process, covering about a 1000 year history.

This process took place in stages throughout the centuries.

Stage 1 - Authoritative Utterances

Much of what we read in the OT, was first spoken to the Hebrew people and passed along orally, throughout the generations.

Countless times we read “thus says the Lord” or hear the word of the Lord”

Stage 2 - Formal Written Documents

Sometimes what was spoken was immediately put into writing.

Exodus 24:3 (ESV)

Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the rules.

And all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words that the Lord has spoken we will do.”

Y Moisés vino y contó al pueblo todas las palabras del Señor y todas las ordenanzas; y todo el pueblo respondió a una voz, y dijo: Haremos todas las palabras que el Señor ha dicho.

Other times the writing transpired later.

Joshua 8:32 (ESV)

And there, in the presence of the people of Israel, he wrote on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written.

Y escribió allí, sobre las piedras, una copia de la ley que Moisés había escrito, en presencia de los hijos de Israel.

Stage 3 - Collecting the Documents

This process was long and comprehensive because the OT is covering over a 1000 year history, the book of Psalms covers 500 years itself, comprehensive given the number of ancient sources cited in the OT

Numbers 21:14 (ESV)

Therefore it is said in the Book of the Wars of the Lord,

“Waheb in Suphah, and the valleys of the Arnon,

Por tanto se dice en el Libro de las Guerras del Señor: