I am sure that at some point, either now or in the future, you will be asked: Who put together the Bible? Was it an act of God or man? Perhaps you have wrestled with this question yourself. How can we know that these decisions were legitimate and reasonable rather than merely fulfilling man’s desires? Remember, the Bible states that all Scripture is “breathed out by God” and that it was written as it was “carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Tim. 3:16, 2 Pet. 1:20-21). Therefore, God controls all that is recorded in the Bible; it is not by the will of man. Historically speaking, we can trace how the books of the Bible were compiled. But again, remember, whatever the cause, it is because of the divine inspiration given by the Holy Spirit to believers. That is our starting point.
To understand how the Bible was compiled, we must first grasp the meaning of the word ” canon. ” In Greek, ” canon ” refers to a “measuring rod.” Thus, the biblical canon represents the collection of the books of the Bible as God’s authoritative word. Officially, the biblical canon was not fully established until the fourth century. Nevertheless, substantial evidence indicates that there was a specific order of acceptance for a concept of canon that was not yet finalized but promising based on historical data. For a book to be included in the canon, it must meet three criteria: divine inspiration, acceptance by the churches, and a connection to an apostle. In the New Testament, all the books were authored directly by at least one apostle.
The Old Testament was already compiled and known as ‘the Scriptures’ during Jesus’ time on earth. The Hebrew Bible is divided into three parts: the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings. That is why we see Jesus frequently referencing the Scriptures as the “Law and the Prophets.” Although he disagreed with the religious leaders, there was no conflict regarding the books of the Old Testament canon. By the turn of the century, when Jesus entered the world, it was accepted that the Jewish canon was arranged as it should be.
There has been speculation that Emperor Constantine decided on the accepted canon for the New Testament. However, historically, this charge is inaccurate. The earliest letters of the church fathers cited New Testament passages as Scriptures, especially the Gospels. These church fathers also accepted Paul’s letters as divinely inspired as well. The names of such church fathers included Ignatius, Justin Martyr, and Irenaeus. Again, the acceptance of the Scripture was never by worldly standards. Rather, the early church, through the help of the Holy Spirit, could deduce what was divinely inspired. In 2 Peter 3:16, Peter himself refers to Paul’s letters as Scripture, proving the acceptance of his writing’s inequality with the Old Testament books.
So now we arrive back at the question: Did God or man put together the Bible? You can trust that God ordered the writing of the Scriptures and arranged them. Many wrong ideas have been raised about how this came to be, but we can be assured of only the truth. The Old Testament and New Testament canon became the Bible due to the Holy Spirit’s leading within man’s hearts. The Bible was written by forty authors across three continents for two thousand years. Despite all of this, the message is consistent. This further proves that God is the author of the Bible, though he uses human vessels to convey his important message of salvation.
Written by Caitlyn Conn