Word of the Week

Word of the Week: Canon (Special Revelation)

The “canon” of Scripture is a term related to special revelation. For the next several posts, the term will come underneath the subject of special revelation. Stay tuned for terms like inspiration, inerrancy, authority, sufficiency.

As a reminder, special revelation is God’s specific revelation of himself to us. The Bible is the product of God’s special revelation. In one sense, special revelation preceded the written word. Consider God speaking with Abraham and Moses. Those conversations were special revelation. That they were recorded in the Old Testament now makes them special revelation written down for generations afterward to read. Jesus Christ is also God’s special revelation of himself to us. How we know anything about God specifically comes through the words God gave us in the Bible.

So, what is the Bible? We are going to try to answer this question over the course of this post and subsequent posts.

The Bible is the Word of God, special revelation, that addresses God, us, and redemption. It is made up of 66 books over 1500 years with 40 different authors. 

The term “canon” means “straight rod.” Canon carries with it the idea of the “rule of faith.” This means that the canon of the Bible (66 books in total, 39 in OT and and 27 in NT) provide the rule of faith that guides our practice as followers of Jesus. 

In one sense there are 2 canons—the Old Testament and the New Testaement. The Old Testament was the rule of faith under God’s original covenant with Abraham. As the Word of God, it still holds validity and importance. We cannot ignore or modify the words of God according to our wants and wishes.

You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you.

God, through Moses in Deuteronomy 4:2

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” 

Jesus, in Matthew 5:17

However, because of the New Covenant inaugurated by Jesus, the OT does not function as our primary “rule of faith.” That belongs to the NT. We are to interpret the OT in light of the NT. In so doing, we discover the importance of the law, prophets, and writings as foreshadowing Jesus and the gospel and filling in important aspects of God’s character and nature.

The OT canon came down from Hebrew Scriptures, translated into the Septuagint (the OT in Greek language), and was used and adopted by the earliest Christians. As early as 170 AD (outside of the NT testimony), Melito of Sardis wrote about the OT list of books. Other early Christians like Origen, Athanasius, and Augustine had similar lists (occasionally referring to an additional book or including an OT book within another one: Ezra/Nehemiah, Jeremiah/Lamentations).

The NT canon was adopted prior to the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD. Criteria for NT books being included in the canon are as follows:

Apostolic authority. Authorship must be an apostle or someone writing from the perspective of an apostle. This criteria also relates to dates within the first century. Writings claimed to be written by an apostle, but obvioulsy written in the second century and beyond were never accepted by the church at large.

Orthodoxy. The books must conform to orthodox positions regarding Christ and God. Some writings claimed authorship by apostles, but their views were not orthodox. Heretical views, such as advocated in Gnosticism or other heresies were excluded from the canon.

Catholicity. The books of the NT had to be accepted by the church universal: in time, geography, and people. Obviously, this criterion does not require every single congregation in the early church to affirm canonicity, but it does require universal or general acceptance. For example, a single congregation’s acceptance of a letter/book would not be sufficient for inclusion in the canon. The 27 books of the NT were being used as a “rule of faith” for the church prior to Nicea. At Nicea, the council affirmed what the church had already accepted. 

These criteria guided the early church to canonize the 27 books of our NT. Some may question the process of canonization. But if God can inspire Scripture (2 Timothy 3:15), then he can certainly guide the process of canonization. We will explore the doctrine of inspiration in subsequent posts.

In the canon of Scripture, we have the foundation documents of Christianity, the charter of the church, the title-deeds of faith. For no other literature can such a claim be made. And when the claim is made, it is made not merely for a collection of ancient writings. In the words of Scripture, the voice of the Spirit of God continues to be heard. Repeatedly, new spiritual movements have been launched by the rediscovery of the living power which resides in the canon of Scripture—a living power which strengthens and liberates.

F. F. Bruce, The Canon of Scripture, 283.

F. F. Bruce connects canonicity to a foundational truth. The Bible is powerful and authoritative. It is life-changing and redemptive. This does not surprise the Christian, for if the Bible is the Word of God, it should be life-changing and redemptive.

What does it mean to have a canon of Scripture for believers today? Here are several takeaways for todays’ word of the week:

  • We don’t get to adjust the Bible; we must adjust to the Bible. (Deut. 4:2; Rev. 22:18)
  • If we can trust that the Bible is inspired and the canon came from God, we can trust the Bible. 
  • If we can trust the Bible, then the Bible is our authority for life and practice. 

One of the primary reasons for these theological word of the week posts is to connect theological truths to daily Christian living. If the Bible is God’s special revelation of himself to us, then it is authoritative in our lives. We must learn from it, submit to it, and apply it.

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Word of the Week: General Revelation

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

Psalm 19:1

Last week’s post overviewed the doctrine of Revelation, or God’s unveiling of himself to the world. Today’s post will define general revelation, one of two spheres of the doctrine of revelation. Special revelation is the second sphere and will be the subject of subsequent posts.

General revelation refers to God’s self-manifestation through nature, history, and the inner being of the human person. It is general in two senses: it’s universal availability (it is accessible to all persons at all times) and the content of its message (it is less particularized and detailed than special revelation).

Millard Erickson, Introducing Christian Doctrine, 26.

The distinction between general and special revelation is important. Because general revelation is universal and available to all, it is sufficient for mankind to know that there is a God. But because the one true God can only be known through Jesus Christ, special revelation is necessary. We will unpack this consideration in upcoming posts.

Millard Erickson suggested three areas where God has revealed himself generally to the world:

  1. Nature/Creation (Ps. 19 and Rom. 1:18-32). In nature, which is the focus of natural theology, God makes himself known as Creator. While we will not dive into the arguments for God’s existence from natural theology here, it is necessary to note that the universal tendency to worship gods or nature as gods is an affirmation of God’s revelation through nature. For the entirety of human civilization, gods and religions have been a part of human experience. The primary reason for this is that humanity has recognized that the world we live must have come from something/someone greater than ourselves. While some versions of ultimate reality coming from nature arose during the experiment of Greek philosophy, naturalism as a worldview is a recent development (18th century).(Naturalism is the worldview where ultimate reality is found in nature. The theory of evolution comes from the worldview of naturalism. Hence the phrase evolutionary naturalism). Humans have almost universally believed some deity is responsible for creating the world we live in. Creation testifies to general revelation.
  2. History (the Old Testament). An example of general revelation in history would be the unfurling of God’s character through his dealings with Israel in history. Whatever one thinks about the nation of Israel theologically or geopolitically, it is evident that there is something special about them. As a people, they have been targeted for annihilation (Nazis), persecuted, and disenfranchised throughout history. Their land has been under the control of empires and other nations for most of human history. Yet Israel remains. They remained a unique people even before they returned to their land. Why is this? It appears to me that God’s dealings with Israel reveal his special concern about the people he chose. Israel’s history testifies to general revelation.
  3. Humanity (Gen. 1:28). Being made in God’s image is a vital part of human understanding. It is true that the doctrine of the imago Dei is not universally accepted. But the philosophical definitions of humanity (as an animal or machine or mere product of nature) are inconsistent with human experience and reality. Humanity must be more than what naturalistic philosophies suggest because of our capacity for relationships, rationality, creativity, and morality. The fact that humans have free choice about how to live life reflects the freedom and personality given by a Creator. Humanity testifies to general revelation.

I recognize that connected these three areas to Scripture (special revelation). Understanding and interpreting general revelation sufficiently requires special revelation. We will unpack what this means in the following weeks.

Even so, it is important to recognize one staggering truth about general revelation that should shake us as followers of Christ:

General revelation is sufficient for condemnation, but not for salvation. 

You might read that quote and disagree. You might not like it. But whether we like it or not, it is true. Have a read from Paul’s exposition in Romans 1.

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. 
24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

Romans 1:18-25 (emphasis on verse 20 mine)

Theologically, one is condemned for failing to believe in God alone. Human sin, flowing down the generations from Adam to sinners today, is the cause of unbelief. Paul identified idolatry as a rejection of the truth taught in general revelation and sufficient for condemnation.

As Christians, the truth regarding general revelation should drive us three specific applications:

  • Pursue deeper knowledge of God.
  • Seek a greater appreciation for God’s general work in the world (nature, history, humanity).
  • Share the specific truths about God and salvation to sinners who desperately need forgiveness and eternal life.

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