WE endeavored last month to present to our readers the character of the spiritual instruction received by the early churches of Christ; we will now offer some suggestions as to the way in which the respective books of the New Testament came to be gathered together.
The following table, giving the accepted dates on which the various books of the New Testament were written, will be to the purpose.
Now here it is seen that the whole of the New Testament was written within a space of forty-four years. Indeed, excepting the writings of the Apostles John and Jude, it may be said that God gave the New Testament to His Church in the brief period of fifteen years, that is from 52 to 67. It is self-evident, that God purposed that His church should have His inspired word in its hands when the apostles and prophets upon which it was built were removed. When the mighty action of His Spirit, through these holy men who were moved to tell men His mind, was about to cease, God prepared His written word to supply their place.
But how did the scattered books become known in the Church as the very word of God? Here is a question of the deepest moment for our own times; and to answer it we turn to the New Testament itself. On what principle, for example, did the church of the Thessalonians judge that the letters written to them professedly by the Apostle Paul were false? By the force of the true-by heeding the epistles God had sent them through His servant (see 2 Thess. 2:22That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. (2 Thessalonians 2:2)); in other words, by the innate authority of the Scriptures. How were the churches of Galatia to discern whether the Apostle Paul's epistle was of God, or whether the system of legal teaching leavening them was true? By yielding to the authority of the written epistles And this principle the apostle so urgently put forward, that he bade them obey the inspired word (Gal. 1:1212For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. (Galatians 1:12)), even in the face of the supposed event of himself or an angel from heaven preaching a gospel different from that which he had already preached (vers. 8, 9). The authority of the word in this epistle is placed before the authority of an apostle. The word is infallible; an apostle might err. Even the Apostle Peter, we are told, on one occasion “walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel" (ch. 2:14), apostle though he was, but the truth can never change. Surely such an incident is related by the inspiration of the Spirit, not for us to cast a slur upon an holy apostle, but to teach us the importance of obeying God's word. God shows us that His word is above and beyond that of angels and apostles, who, however great, are but servants of God. Here lies a vital principle for our own day, in which strenuous endeavors are made to account for what is inspired by human authority.
His word is given to the Church, and the Church is bound to obey it because it is God's word. The Thessalonians were bidden "obey" the word (2 Thess. 3:1414And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed. (2 Thessalonians 3:14)); in the Epistle to the Romans we read of the “gospel... made manifest...according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith "(ch. 16:26) ; and to the Corinthians St. Paul said, " If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord." (1 Cor. 14:3737If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord. (1 Corinthians 14:37).) The Scriptures are a class of writing distinct from all others, Spirit-breathed and “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." (2 Tim. 3:1616All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: (2 Timothy 3:16).) The truths of the Scripture were communicated to its writers (1 Tim. 1:1111According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust. (1 Timothy 1:11)), and form the exposition of the faith once delivered unto the saints (see Jude 33Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. (Jude 3)).
How the Scriptures were gathered together and became known in their entirety by the Church, as the word of God, is a very interesting question, but one on which not very much light is at present thrown, beyond this, that they were gradually collected together at the beginning.
That the inspired writings were known as such in the Church from the first, is self-evident. There is proof that they were so known as time went on. The Apostle Peter (A.D. 67), writing about the period of the Apostle Paul's martyrdom, says, "As our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you,"—i.e., "to them that have obtained like precious faith with us" (2 Peter 1:11Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ: (2 Peter 1:1))—"as also in all his epistles," and refers also to " the other Scriptures," and does so to establish the Christians in steadfastness of faith (see ch. 3:15-18). In the Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians, one of the earliest of the writings of the early Church, he says, "Take the epistle of the blessed Paul the Apostle into your hands," showing they were familiar with it.
It is impossible to imagine the early Christians, or churches, to whom parts of the inspired word were addressed, not being jealous over them. The Jewish converts were accustomed to revere every letter of the Old Testament Scriptures. Could such men treat the New with less care? The laborious interest at the time of the foundation of the Church with which the ancient holy writings were copied, and the diligence with which they were read publicly in the synagogues Sabbath by Sabbath, and the earnestness with which they were taught privately in the family (2 Tim. 3:1515And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 3:15)) are well known facts. These facts throw a light upon the attitude of the early churches generally towards the whole word of God. In later years we hear of the Scriptures being committed to memory, and also being written out and valued with the highest esteem.
Regarding our question with simplicity as to how the New Testament Scriptures were gathered together, we select a few of the epistles for suggestions. Let us open the Epistle of St. John to the elect lady. This, as we are aware, was one of the very latest portions of the inspired word, and was written by the aged John long after the death of the other apostles. That letter was the lady's safeguard, and her divine order how to conduct herself in her house in relation to the false teachers who had entered the Church, and who visited her parts. Such a letter a devout Christian woman would certainly make public, and produce as her cause for closing her doors against the false teachers, and, as a faithful servant of Christ, she would be careful to supply a copy of it to others situated as she herself was.
We may say as much also concerning the letter to Gaius. That letter would be his defense against overbearing Diotrephes, and Gaius and such as felt the misery of masterful spirits in the Church would have in the apostle's letter their deliverance. Ours may be an age of criticism, those early days were the age of life, and the struggle of the true against the false.
How would Timothy and Titus prize the writings addressed to them individually and officially. They also would assuredly make the contents known to the men over whom they had been placed by God through the apostle.
These suggestions refer to parts of the New Testament addressed to members of the Church, who had to fight for the truth in the Church against teachers and errors that had entered it. The truth is greater than the Church. The Church may be corrupted (see 1 Cor. 3:1717If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. (1 Corinthians 3:17)); the truth abides incorruptible, and by the truth we are to save ourselves and those that hear us from the evils of our times. (1 Tim. 4:1616Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee. (1 Timothy 4:16).) In those earliest times evil doctrines in the Church occasioned some part of the New Testament, hence the Church had to be corrected by the Bible.
It was the express command of the Lord that each of the seven churches addressed in the Revelation should have the Book sent to them (Rev. 1:1111Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. (Revelation 1:11)), and the Epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Galatians was written to the churches-how many we know not-of Galatia. Thus, at once on the receipt of these writings, various churches were made aware of the word of God being among them, and the faithful would do their utmost to make the truth so communicated known.
Such simple means as reverence, love, and toil would suggest, sufficed to give the churches in the various parts of the world the New Testament as well as the Old; and we cannot suppose the early Church, influenced by the apostles, and assailed by false teachers, neglecting to supply itself with the Scriptures of truth. Nor can we allow the idea that apostles who bade churches read their epistles to other churches, as did the Apostle Paul, or who, as the Apostle Peter, exhorted the believers to obedience to the recognized inspired words of the New Testament, would do other than influence the churches to the care and the making known of the books as the New Testament. There was a considerable amount of intercourse between different churches, as we observe in the Acts, for over and over again the Apostle Luke says, “the brethren met us"; hence they must have heard of the intended coming of the Apostle Paul and his companions.
But, whether by adopting such means as were used by the Jews for the distribution of the letter of the Old Testament, whether by energetic efforts, or by slow degrees, as a matter of fact the whole of the New Testament became, with the Old Testament, known as the inspired word of God, and learned people assure us that many thousand copies were in circulation at the end of the second century.
But, going back to the first century, we find the words of Scripture quoted by the early Christian writers. Clement, for example, whose Epistle to the Corinthians was written, most probably, before the death of the Apostle John, quotes the inspired word considerably. In the following sentences, words from the inspired Epistles to the Hebrews, Corinthians, Ephesians, and Romans can be easily traced:—
“This is the way, beloved, in which we may find our Savior, even Jesus Christ, the High Priest of all our offerings, the defender and helper of our weakness. By Him we look up to the highest heavens, and behold as in a glass His spotless and excellent visage. By Him are the eyes of our hearts opened; by Him our foolish and darkened understanding rejoiceth to behold His wonderful light. By Him would God have us to taste the knowledge of immortality, who, being the brightness of His glory, is by so much greater than the angels as He hath by inheritance a more excellent name than they." He also evidently refers to the Apostle Peter's epistles and to that of the Apostle James, to the epistles to Timothy and Titus, and to the Apostle Luke's Gospel. The Epistle of Barnabas (by some regarded as more ancient still) makes a few allusions to the gospels, though hardly any to the epistles. The “Teaching of the Twelve Apostles," as another ancient Christian manuscript is called, also bears in it quotations from the evangelists. These writings quote from the New Testament Scriptures, and use them as authority. They are of an exhortative character, not doctrinal, and Ignatius's epistles, written in the second century, have also some few references to the Scriptures.
Thus we have evidence that the books of the New Testament in the very early ages of Christianity had become widely recognized in the Church.
It is true that in after years such an epistle as that called after the name of Clement was looked upon for a time as almost inspired, but only to be disregarded as such, when again in a yet later period the various books of the New Testament became once more to be better known in the Church. As to such early writings, we feel assured that our Christian readers generally, would perceive at once that they are no more inspired by God the Spirit than the ordinary good books of Christian doctrine and practice that may be written in our own times. Some parts of these ancient writings are painfully mystic, and some even very childish, while some advance doctrines that the New Testament condemns. We again remind our readers that much of the epistles relates to evil teachings current in the Church, and, therefore, to allow that the Church determines what is and what is not inspired, and that our faith in the Scriptures is obtained from Church authority, is but to despise God who speaks. That such ideas found place in epistles to different churches is in no way surprising, since Scripture teaches us that heresies, already in existence in the apostles' days, were to increase after their departure, and thus in Scripture itself, then as now, were the faithful in the Church to find their guidance. “God and the word of His grace “was their safeguard in the midst of the countless ideas and determined self-will of false teachers, even as ours.