Seven Principles For Recognizing Canonical Books
by Bob and Gretchen Passantino
Copyright 2001 by Bob and Gretchen Passantino
Each of these principles must be fulfilled for a
book to be recognized as canonical. A book
for which canonicity is claimed must not skip
or fail any of the principles. The principles are
overlapping and interdependent. The early
church (and the Jewish congregation before it)
recognized those books that were the Word of
God, they did not determine which books
would be considered the Word of God.
- Is it authoritative? Did it come
with the authority of God?
This means that
the book must
demonstrate the
authority of God
in both
proclamation and
power. It must
claim to be the
word of God
either explicitly
(such as when the
prophets say, “This
is the word of the
Lord”) or implicitly
(such as when
Moses directly
quotes the Lord in
a narrative sense).
Its claim to be the
word of God must
be backed up by
the power of the
revelation itself to
impact the
Christian
community and
life.
- Is it prophetic? Was it written by a
man of God?
This means that
the book must be
written by or
come from the
community of
those who have
been attested to
as representatives
of God for the
purposes of
revelation. Their
claims must meet
the standards of
right teaching,
right practice,
“two or three
witnesses,” and
“signs and
wonders.” For
example, the
gospels were
written by the
original apostles
and/or their
associates, and
the apostles were
attested by Jesus
Christ, their words,
actions, and the
miracles that
followed them.
- Is it authentic? Did it tell the truth
about God, man, etc.?
This overlaps with
principle number
two. A book that
claims to have
been written by
an apostle but
actually was
written several
centuries later is
not authentic. A
book that claims
to give us
information about
Jesus’ “lost years”
but which
contradicts what
we know about
his life from the
authentic gospels
cannot be
authentic.
- Is it dynamic? Did it come with
the life-transforming power of God?
Although this is a
somewhat
nebulous
concept, it is
important.
Something that is
genuinely the
Word of God will
come with the
power and the
witness of the Holy
Spirit such that
those who study
and apply it to
their own lives will
experience
spiritual
transformation.
This is somewhat
like what the
apostles who
encountered the
risen Christ
experienced on
the road to
Emmaus when
Christ explained
the scriptures
concerning
himself to them:
“Were not our
hearts burning
within us while he
talked with us on
the road and
opened the
Scriptures to us?”
(Luke 24:32).
- Was it received (i.e. collected,
read, and used)? Was it accepted by the
people of God?
The scriptures of
both the Old
Testament and
the New
Testament were
recognized by
God’s people
(Israel in the Old,
the church in the
New) immediately
after composition.
This overlaps other
principles, but its
emphasis is
specific: The body
(not individuals or
small factions) is
indwelt by the
same Spirit who
prompted the
scriptures, and
that recognition is
essential.
Therefore, a book
never
experienced by
the church as a
body is ineligible,
and a book
accepted by only
a small part or
faction, especially
a heretical
faction, is
ineligible.
- Was it written by an authoritative
writer, a founding stone of the
church or an eyewitness to the
events? (Eph. 4:5-11)
Moses was
attested to as a
prophet of God
by his words,
works, the signs
and wonders
following him, and
the peoples’
recognition of his
calling. Therefore,
when scripture
came through
him, it was
recognized as
God’s Word as
well. Moses chose
Joshua to be his
successor and so
the words God
gave to Joshua
were eligible to
be considered as
the Word of God
by appeal to the
other principles.
In a similar
manner, Luke
(who wrote his
gospel and the
book of Acts) was
Paul’s associate.
When the apostles
sought to replace
Judas Iscariot,
they knew a
corollary to this
principle, that is,
that any
replacement of
an apostle must
be someone who
had followed
Christ throughout
his earthly ministry
and was an
eyewitness to his
resurrection (Acts
1:21-22).
- Did the people who knew of the
alleged events have the chance to falsify
them?
For the alleged
words of scripture
to be tested, the
events described
in them must be
testable. To be
testable, they
must have
occurred within
the lifetime of
those who are
judging their
authenticity.
Therefore,
someone who
appears with a
“new” gospel
after the
beginning of the
second century
(100s AD) could
not have their
gospel tested
because the
eyewitnesses of
Jesus’s life, death,
and resurrection
would not be
alive to affirm or
deny its claims.
That is why Luke
could begin his
gospel affirming
that he tested all
that he heard
(Luke 1:1-3), Paul
could say that
there were close
to 500 witnesses to
the resurrection in
the mid 50s AD (1
Cor. 15:1-4), and
Peter could affirm
that “We did not
follow cleverly
invented stories
when we told you
about the power
and coming of
our Lord Jesus
Christ, but we
were eyewitnesses
of his majesty” (2
Pet. 1:16).
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