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The Authority of Scripture

Have you ever wondered how the books of the Bible were put together? In the early church, there were many books and letters written and circulated as instructions or teachings to Christians in these early churches. Then there came a time when the church decided to agree on those writings or letters which were going to be considered as authoritative, or as “the Bible”, or “Canon of scripture”. Twenty-seven books in the New Testament and thirty-nine in the Old Testament. Sixty-six in total.

How did the early church decide which books should be in the Bible, and which writings or letters were not to be considered “divine scripture” or “Canon”? What would be put in and what would be left out?

If you have been in church circles, you might have heard the word “Canon” or “the Canon of Scripture”, which is the Bible.  The word “Canon” means “measuring stick”. There were several things they used as criteria, but essentially they considered whether the letter or book pointed to Jesus as the Son of God. Did the letter reveal Jesus as God’s self-revelation to humanity? Why? Because Jesus is the “measuring stick”. Jesus himself is essentially “the Canon”. 

So, if a letter or book lined up with this truth – that Jesus is the Son of God, then it passed the test and it was considered “canon”. Ultimately, Jesus is where the books of the Bible got its “canonicity” from because He is the “Canon of Scripture”. He is the measuring stick the writings were compared to. 

The Bible, therefore, has no inherent authority. It has authority because it is pointing to God who is authority. This book is true because it reveals the one who is the Truth. Jesus is the One who gives authority to these scriptures – and not the other way round. Jesus is not the Son of God because the Bible says so – the Bible is the Bible because Jesus is the Son of God.

In other words, the Bible is a means to an end, and not the end in itself. It is like a sign on the side of the road that says “Durban 90km”. You do not stop at the signboard and start camping for your holiday in Durban. The sign is merely pointing you to where you want to go. 

- The Bible is pointing us to where we want to go, or rather to the One we want to be with.

- The sign is not the goal, but rather the signal or what the sign signifies – and His name is Jesus.

Technically… if I understand John 1 correctly (In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God), then the Bible (this physical book) is not the “Word of God”, but the Bible reveals or points us to the “Word of God”, the Truth of God, the Ultimate Revelation of God… and His name is Jesus.

- You see, I love this book – not because it is special or magical in itself, but because it showed me the One that I love, Jesus.

Why is all of this important?

Because we are speaking about your devotion to the Word. 

- Your aim is not a knowledge of Scripture; it is to know the One that Scripture reveals. 

- We do not study the word; we study the One the word reveals. 

- We do not read the Bible because of religious duty (as if God will be more pleased with me after reading some words from this book), we read it for relationship. 

- We devote ourselves to Scripture because we are devoted to the One Scripture is all about, Jesus. 

This then implies that:

- Because Jesus is the measuring stick for my life, the Bible has to become the measuring stick for my life. 

- Because Jesus is the ultimate Truth and standard of my life, the Bible becomes the new authority over my life. 

- Because I want to follow Jesus, I submit and align my life to the Bible.