Ethan R. Longhenry's Blog, page 44

The First Letter of John

John surveyed the scene and saw many concerning trends: Christians were despairing of confidence in their salvation; antichrists went about professing a different Christ, denying the reality of sin, and making faithful Christians seem deficient. He would write to provide encouragement; the result is 1 John.

The first letter of John is the twenty-third book in modern editions of the New Testament; it is often categorized as one of the “catholic” or universal letters or epistles. The author never explicitly identified himself but grounded his exhortation in his personal experience of the Word made flesh, Jesus of Nazareth (1 John 1:1-4); literary connections remain strong among the Gospel of John, the three letters of John, and Revelation, pointing to the same author, John the son of Zebedee, the brother of James, one of the three closest Apostles to Jesus (cf. Matthew 4:18-22, 17:1-13). The letter is written to Christians known to John, whom he calls his “little children” frequently (1 John 2:1, 12, 13, 18, 28, 3:7, 18, 4:4, 5:21); the letter’s substance betrays no hint of when or where it was written. It is generally believed to have been written in Ephesus, John’s center of ministry (cf. Irenaeus, Against Heresies 3.1.1). Some date the letter to the mid-60s; while this remains possible, the docetism and perhaps proto-Gnosticism against which John wrote is better dated somewhat afterward, ca. 85-95. John wrote his first letter to all Christians over whom he had some influence to encourage them in their faith and to resist those in their midst who denied the actual humanity of Jesus and the existence and challenge of sin.

John began his letter with a profound prologue setting forth his purpose: he has experienced much concerning the Word of life, his association is with God in Christ, and he wrote so that those who read would be in association with him as well (1 John 1:1-4). The message John has to give is God is light and in Him is no darkness: those who walk in the light have fellowship with God and each other, but those who are in darkness have no association with God; thus, those who say they have no sin, past or present, deceive themselves, and the truth is not in them, but those who recognize and confess their sins to God are cleansed in Christ (1 John 1:5-10). John would have Christians not sin, but when they sin, Jesus is their Advocate, the propitiation for sin; we know we are in Christ if we do what He commands and walk as He walked (1 John 2:1-6). John emphasized the “new old” command: to love, but love as Jesus loved; all who hate their brethren are not in Christ, but those who truly love are in God (1 John 2:7-11). John provided specific encouragement for Christians at different points of life and stages of growth (1 John 2:13-15).

John exhorted Christians against loving the world and its lusts, for they stand against the purposes of God (1 John 2:15-17). He warned Christians about the antichrists: those who professed Jesus and still remained in their midst but who did not confess Jesus as having come in the flesh; they denied the Lord and promoted lies; they may have been among Christians, but their condemnation was made evident in their departure; Christians must remain in the truth they heard from the beginning to obtain eternal life (1 John 2:18-27). Christians ought to abide in Jesus and no longer persist in sin: Christians have the blessing of being called children of God, having the promise they will be as Christ is, and thus seek to be pure; those who persist in sin persist in lawlessness and are not in Christ, for Christ died to cleanse from sin, not persist in it (1 John 2:29-3:6). Faithful Christians persist in righteousness, turn from sin, and are born of God; anyone who would deny sin or who persist in sin are not in Christ and are of the Devil (1 John 3:7-10).

Christians have heard the message to love one another in Christ: they must not hate their brother, like Cain did, and should not be surprised when the world hates them (1 John 3:11-13). Christians may know they have life if they love the brethren; those who hate their brethren are murderers who have no life in them; Christians know love through Jesus’ sacrifice, and ought to be willing to sacrifice themselves for one another; how can a Christian have material wealth, see a fellow Christian in need, and not help him, but abide in love? Christians must love in truth and practice, not mere word (1 John 3:14-17). The Christian’s heart may condemn him or her, but God is greater than the heart, and if they keep His commandment, they are in Him and He gives as they ask (1 John 3:18-24). Christians must test the spirits to see if they are of God: those of God confess Jesus in the flesh; the world hears those who deny Jesus in the flesh, for it satisfies them; God is greater than the one in the world (1 John 4:1-6). God is love, and those who love one another are in God; how can one love God whom he has not seen if he does not love his fellow man that he has seen? Perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:7-21).

Those who believe Jesus is the Christ are begotten of God; Christians know they love God’s children if they love God and keep His commandments, and thus can overcome the world (1 John 5:1-5). God bore witness in Christ, in the blood, and in the Spirit; God’s witness is faithful, and those who believe in Jesus have the witness in them of eternal life in the Son (1 John 5:6-12). John concluded by reiterating his purpose for writing: for Christians to know they have eternal life, have boldness to ask of God according to His will and receive it (and should pray for one another if they sin a sin not to death, but not if one sins unto death), know those who are in Christ do not persist in sin, but those who persist in sin are in the world controlled by the Evil One, and confess that Jesus has come and given the true knowledge which leads to salvation and life; Christians must guard themselves from idols (1 John 5:13-21).

John’s message of encouragement for the Christians of his day remains powerful today. We do well to confess Jesus: He came in the flesh, truly lived, died, and was raised again in power, and those who trust Him will turn away from sin, do His commandments, and obtain eternal life. May we stand firm in Jesus, confident of His victory, and obtain the resurrection of life!

Ethan R. Longhenry

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Work

“We must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work” (John 9:4).

It is perhaps one of the greatest of the divine mysteries: God has summoned us sinful, weak humans to participate in His work and to advance His purposes.

The Bible makes known the great things which God has done in order to save us and to advance His purposes in His creation. He created the universe and all that is in it (Genesis 1:1-2:4); He sent His Son to live, die, and be raised again in power so that we could be delivered from our sins and overcome death (John 3:16, 1 Corinthians 15:1-58, 1 John 4:7-11). The pages of Scripture abundantly attest to God’s love and covenant loyalty powerfully demonstrated by His power.

Meanwhile God has expected people to labor for His purposes. God had a particular type of tent, the Tabernacle, where He intended to manifest His presence to Israel; He even had plans for it, and yet He expected the Israelites to build that Tabernacle themselves, and that according to the pattern He would show them (Exodus 25:9). In Christ God has maintained His power for salvation in the message of the Gospel (Romans 1:16); in Acts there are examples of the great efforts made by the Holy Spirit and angels so that people could hear, believe, and obey the Gospel, and yet it was to be preached by God’s people, not by the Holy Spirit or the angels directly (e.g. Acts 10:1-47).

Jesus explains the importance of work in the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30. He envisions the time between His ascension and before His return in terms of servants given differing amounts of talents, a very large sum of money; they are expected to go and make more money by trading them (Matthew 25:14-18). Jesus’ returned is envisioned in terms of settling accounts with these servants (Matthew 25:19). In this story the one given five talents makes five more talents, and the one who was given two made two more, and they both were welcomed into the joy of their master (Matthew 25:16-17, 20-23). A third servant was given one talent, but he buried it in fear; the master was angry with this servant for his lack of effort, and he is cast out into the outer darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 25:18, 24-30).

The message of the parable might be jarring but it is evident: the followers of Jesus are expected to work to advance Jesus’ purposes until He returns. While everyone has equal value in God’s sight, not everyone is equally talented; how many abilities one has is not a basis of boasting but a stewardship of responsibility. Each is to use the abilities (or talents; the word derives from the form of money in the parable and on the basis of the parable) God has given him or her to serve (1 Peter 4:10-11). One with few talents need not despair when seeing another with more talents; one with many talents has no right to slack off because others have fewer talents. Our reward comes from how effectively we have used those talents for God’s purposes. If we bring others to Jesus, well and good; if we “obtain interest” by growing and exercising in our own faith, that is also sufficient (2 Peter 3:18). But any servant of Jesus who does nothing with his talents out of fear or insolence will be cast into the outer darkness, another way of speaking about hell!

Serving the Lord Jesus, therefore, is not to be taken lightly. What Jesus has said in Matthew 25:14-30 may not sit well with some of the doctrinal positions of man but makes complete sense when we understand the true nature of faith. Those who believe in Jesus are not merely to accept the reality of His existence, but to believe that He is Lord and Christ (John 3:16, Acts 2:36). If He is Lord, we are not; we cannot continue to walk in our ways and really believe that Jesus is Lord. To believe that Jesus is Lord demands that we put our trust in Him, and the only way our trust can be manifest is in what we do. So it is that Jesus considers believing in Him the work of God which He would have us to do (John 6:29): faith without works is dead, for faith must be manifest in how we think, feel, and act (James 2:14-26). One who claims to believe that Jesus is the Christ of God, the Lord, but does not get busy in His Kingdom is not really trusting Jesus, not really seeking His purposes, and without repentance will be cast into the outer darkness as an unprofitable servant!

God has done great and mighty things to save us; we do not deserve any of it. Our salvation and standing before God is entirely dependent on the love, grace, and mercy He has extended toward us through His Son Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:1-9, Titus 3:3-7). And yet God has made us and saved us for good works that we might walk in them (Ephesians 2:10); we remind ourselves of the salvation Jesus obtained on our behalf so we may devote ourselves to good works (Titus 3:8). Thus, while we are not saved by our works, we have been saved to work and glorify God in Christ. God does not want to cast any of His children out; He wants us to serve Him as His children and servants of the Lord, and if we do so, we will obtain the same rest as He enjoyed once He created the world (Hebrews 4:1-11). God is Sovereign, omnipotent, sufficient to do all things, and yet in His purposes He has given it to us to work in His Kingdom, entrusted us with the Gospel of His Son, the message of salvation, and expects us to grow in His grace and knowledge through actively serving and obeying Him. May we participate in God’s work so as to participate in His rest to His glory and honor!

Ethan R. Longhenry

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The Vulgate

The Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew and Aramaic and translated into Greek before the days of Jesus; the New Testament was originally written in Greek. And yet it is the Romans, speakers of Latin, who ruled the first century world. The New Testament speaks of Latin only once, as one of the three languages in which Pilate had written the title on Jesus’ cross, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews” (John 19:19-20). The Bible may not have been written in Latin, but the definitive translation of the Bible into Latin (called the Vulgate) proves influential in our reception and understanding of the Bible.

The Romans may have ruled the world, but Koine Greek remained the dominant language of the Mediterranean world; for this reason the Bible began to spread around the Roman world in Greek. In the first three centuries after Jesus Christians worked to translate parts of the Bible into Latin. These translations were mostly based on the Greek Old and New Testaments, and the translation work was of uneven quality based on various manuscripts. In 382 “Pope” Damasus I commissioned Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus, whom we know as Jerome, to revise the Gospels of these translations held as the common text (Latin vulgata) as used in the church in Rome at the time; Jerome would, over time, revise not only the Gospels but also the Old Testament and the Apocrypha.

Jerome was one of the more learned Biblical scholars and textual critics of his day. Jerome began according to his commission by correcting the Gospels in Latin according to the most ancient texts at his disposal. Jerome aligned the order of the Gospels in Latin to conform to the order in Greek (it had previously been the “Western order,” Matthew, John, Luke, and Mark). After he completed the Gospels he turned his efforts toward the Old Testament. Whereas Christians before him focused on the text of the Old Testament in Greek, particularly in the Septuagint, Jerome believed it better to translate the Old Testament out of its original Hebrew. This decision would embroil Jerome in great conflict with others, including Augustine, who was concerned that Christians might be offended by hearing any variations on what they felt was inspired based on apostolic authority (Augustine, Letter LXXXII).

Jerome spent time in Jerusalem to strengthen his understanding of Hebrew and did much of his translation work in Bethlehem. He was able to secure one of the few copies of the Hexapla, Origen’s critical edition of the Old Testament, featuring six columns containing the Hebrew text, a transliteration of the Hebrew into Greek (with vowel reconstruction), and four translations of the Hebrew text in Greek (Aquila’s translation, Symmachus’ translation, the Septuagint, and Theodotion’s translation). Some have raised questions and doubts regarding Jerome’s competence in Hebrew, but he demonstrated strong familiarity with the language and developed a robustly conservative translation of the Old Testament from Hebrew into Latin.

Jerome is the one who called the extra works found in the Septuagint but not in the Hebrew Bible apocrypha:

This preface to the Scriptures may serve as a “helmeted” introduction to all the books which we turn from Hebrew into Latin, so that we may be assured that what is not found in our list must be placed amongst the Apocryphal writings. Wisdom, therefore, which generally bears the name of Solomon, and the book of Jesus, the Son of Sirach, and Judith, and Tobias, and the Shepherd are not in the canon. The first book of Maccabees I have found to be Hebrew, the second is Greek, as can be proved from the very style (Jerome, Preface to the Books of Samuel and Kings).

He found value in the apocryphal works and may have considered some of them inspired, but he sought to maintain a distinction between them and the books of the Old and New Testaments. If Jerome translated or revised the rest of the New Testament, it has not been preserved; it seems another translator revised the Vetus Latina edition and did so using older manuscript types.

After Damasus’ death Jerome’s work received no further official commendation; over the next 700 years many recognized the superiority of Jerome’s revisions, and only with Roger Bacon in the 13th century is Jerome’s revision called the vulgata. Ever since the Latin translations before Jerome’s day have been known as the Vetus Latina, or Old Latin, text; the Vetus Latina would remain preserved in many of the liturgical writings in the medieval church.

The Roman Empire was in the midst of collapse in Jerome’s day; knowledge of Greek would be lost to “Western” Christendom soon afterward, and it would be the Latin Vulgate which would be read and heard in churches throughout Western Europe. To Western Christians the Vulgate was “the Bible” until the time of the Reformation; the Roman Catholic Church made the Latin Vulgate its official Bible at the Council of Trent. Soon after a standardized text of the Vulgate was released by the Roman Catholic Church, the Sixto-Clementine (or Clementine) Vulgate; it remained the official text until the release of the Nova Vulgata in the middle of the twentieth century. The modern critical edition of the Vulgate, Biblia Sacra Vulgata, 5th edition, is also known as the Stuttgart Vulgate. Full copies of the Vulgate from the sixth century onwards are preserved along with many partial copies and evidence from early translations.

Despite what many people believe, most English translations of the Bible are not translations out of Latin; most modern versions translate the text from its original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts. Nevertheless, the influence of the Latin Vulgate remains, for many “theological” words which we find in the Bible come from the Latin, including creation, justification, sanctification, and, above all, testament. Many doctrines also derive from the ways in which the Bible was translated into Latin: penance comes from translating Greek metanoeo, repentance, as paenitentiae; imptutation comes from translating Greek logizomai, “to reckon or consider,” as imputatio. Even though translation of the Bible into common languages was a major emphasis of the Reformation, all the Reformers were shaped in their theology by the Bible in the Latin Vulgate.

The Latin Vulgate remains an important part of the family of Biblical texts. While our Bibles today are not directly translated from the Vulgate, the wording of the Vulgate and many of its ideas have shaped how we understand the text in English. The Latin Vulgate’s witness maintains its importance in the work of textual criticism, especially in the Old Testament. Jerome’s decisions to appeal to the Old Testament in Hebrew shifted the conversation about textual authority in the Old Testament; his convictions regarding the apocrypha did not win the day but proved influential over a millennium later. May we appreciate the work of Biblical study and translation in days of old, trust in what God has made known in the Scriptures, and be saved in Christ!

Ethan R. Longhenry

Works Consulted

“Vulgate” (accessed 17/12/2017).

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History of the Bible, II: Transmission of the Text

God has spoken and made known His will and purposes through His servants the prophets and ultimately through His Son Jesus Christ (Hebrews 1:1). The prophets, the Apostles, and their associates preserved those messages from God in the pages of Scripture (2 Timothy 3:15-17). The Scriptures are of the greatest importance and value for those who wish to know what God would have them think, feel, and do. Can we have confidence in the validity of the Biblical text as it has been handed down? We do well to explore the history of the Bible. We previously discussed the movement toward canonization of the text, and we can have great confidence that the books which currently comprise the Old and New Testaments are inspired of God and profitable for instruction and exhortation. Let us now consider how those texts have come down to us so many years later.

The printing press, which allowed for mass and exact copying of a text, was only invented around 1450 CE: beforehand all texts were preserved by creating handwritten copies. A scribe or monk might have a copy of a text (generally called a manuscript) and transcribe it; often a scribe or monk would read aloud a text while other scribes or monks would write down what they heard. The use of paper only came to the Western world after the Crusaders in the twelfth century CE. Before then papyrus or vellum (also known as parchment) were used. Papyrus was used in the east more extensively and also earlier; unfortunately, it was not very strong, and the text would wear out quickly. Vellum, as prepared animal skins, lasted longer, but were harder to develop and more expensive. It often proved easier for scribes or monks to scrape off an old parchment and reuse it for another text; today we have many such examples, called palimpsests, and through technological advancements we can discern many of the previous, scraped off texts.

The transmission process proved very exacting and difficult for many years. Despite all of the hardships, the transmission of the Bible proves outstanding in its quality, and God’s providence can be seen within it. The Masoretic scribes responsible for the transmission of the Old Testament in Hebrew used exacting standards to judge how effective a new copy proved at replicating its predecessor; any deviations would mean they would restart the process. On account of this the Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible remained consistent from the days of Jesus until now. The Masoretes also recorded many of the variants or changes which they believed the text required; we also have copies of the Hebrew Bible in other languages which record variants most likely derived from the Hebrew texts from which they were copied (called the Vorlage). From all those variants we more often than not can make sense of the text as originally written; certain details that are left unresolved do not significantly impact the way we understand the Old Testament. The New Testament has been preserved in over 4,000 copies of at least portions of the text in Greek dating between 170-1450 CE; for comparison, the “runner-up” is Homer’s Iliad, of which we have about 300 copies dating from the same period. These 4,000+ copies are not limited to one geographic area: they come from all over the European, Mediterranean, and even the Middle Eastern world. The great number of texts spread out over such a great area and time span allow us as modern readers to ascertain any discrepancies and inconsistencies in these copies, and allow us to determine the most accurate reading for all but three words in the whole New Testament. Furthermore, all of the variants are well-attested, and many of the challenges and difficulties have been known and discussed since antiquity.

Most variants follow specific patterns which prove understandable in light of the challenges inherent in manual copying of manuscripts. The copyist’s eye might skip a couple of lines, see an ending very much like the one he had just written, and continue copying from there, and inadvertently leave some of the text out (a process called homoioteleuton; if the beginning of terms looks the same, it is homoioarchton). A copyist might just omit a word or a line (called haplography), or repeat a word or a line for a similar reason (called dittography). Copyists also might see the beginning of a familiar verse and complete it from memory, not necessarily taking into account what the text says. He might be correct; at other times, however, the text may have read a little differently in one passage rather than another, and in this way two different passages are made to sound the same (called harmonization; cf. Matthew 6:9-13, Luke 11:2-4). At times the copyist might confuse similar looking letters or even words; sometimes the words are so similar in meaning or can work contextually so that we cannot precisely determine which is most likely the original.

Some of the variants involve expansions of the text to enhance piety or descriptions. For instance, if the text said “Jesus,” some might write, “the Lord Jesus” (an expansion of piety). At other times a copyist might notice two different terms used in the same place in a text, and as opposed to choosing one or the other, included both (called conflation).

We can know about these variants and their heritage because of the existence of so many copies of manuscripts in the original languages and in translation. The work of seeking to ascertain the original text on the basis of all the manuscript evidence is called textual criticism. Textual critics assess the manuscript evidence based on likely relationships among the manuscripts, their age and provenance, along with other factors. The fruit of the labor of textual critics can be seen in the information provided in the authoritative editions of the Old and New Testaments, Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (BHS) and Novum Testamentae Graecum, Nestle-Aland 28th edition (NA28). They feature the masora parva and critical apparatus, respectively, listing not only variants but also the manuscript evidence for those variants. In this way anyone who can develop a basic handle on Biblical languages and the principles of textual criticism can evaluate the textual evidence for themselves: these endeavors are not done in a corner, as if a conspiracy, but open for many to see and explore.

The hand of God can truly be seen in the transmission of the Biblical text. Despite 1,500 years or more of manual copying done by uninspired scribes and monks, we remain able to come to an understanding of what God has made known through the prophets, Jesus, and the Apostles. May we put our trust in God in Christ and be saved!

Ethan R. Longhenry

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The Second Letter of Peter

Peter’s time to remain on the earth was short. He felt compelled to provide some final reminders and exhortations for Christians. To this end he wrote what we deem the second letter of Peter.

The second letter of Peter is the twenty-second book in modern editions of the New Testament; it is often categorized as one of the “catholic” or universal letters or epistles. Simon Peter is identified as the author in 2 Peter 1:1; the letter provides no evidence to determine whether he wrote it personally or dictated it to an amanuensis. Almost all scholars reject Petrine authorship of 2 Peter; of all the books of the New Testament, 2 Peter has the least attestation in early Christian writings. Origen is the first recorded witness to explicitly speak of 2 Peter, and he himself testified to the doubts some had in its authorship; Eusebius placed it among the antilegomena, disputed writings, although he recognized that most considered it authentic (Eusebius, Historia Ecclesiasticae 6.25). Associations between 2 Peter 2:1-22 and Jude 1:3-25 have been noted; many presume that one is dependent on the other, although it remains possible that the Lord had a similar message to send out through each. And yet it seems that the Apocalypse of Peter, a second century document, is dependent on 2 Peter; Origen’s doubts are not sufficient for him to consider the letter inauthentic. It is possible to see indirect allusions to 2 Peter among some second century Christian authors, but their lack of explicit citation in light of their affection for 1 Peter may be notable. It would seem to be more difficult to explain why a clearly later pseudepigraphal letter from Peter would maintain wide acceptance as an authentic letter than it would be to explain why its explicit use came later. Therefore, we ought to recognize the majority opinion that 2 Peter comes from Simon Peter himself while recognizing the existence of disputes about it throughout history. Peter began by writing to those who have a like precious faith, which would be all Christians; yet in 2 Peter 3:1 he spoke of his letter as the second he wrote to his audience (2 Peter 3:1), which would narrow the audience to the Christians of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, Roman provinces spanning much of what is today Turkey (1 Peter 1:1). He most likely wrote 2 Peter from Rome, likely not long before his martyrdom in the middle to late 60s (64-67?). Peter wrote to provide a final message of assurance to Christians regarding their faith and hope, warning against the influence of false teachers and to maintain patience while awaiting the Lord’s return.

Having begun with a standard epistolary introduction (2 Peter 2:1-2), Peter exhorted his audience to be strengthened in their faith and confidence in prophetic witness (2 Peter 1:3-21). According to Peter, God has granted all things about life and godliness to us through His divine power in the knowledge of Christ, and thus Christians ought to strive to make their calling and election sure through diligence in developing faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love, and thus enter God’s eternal kingdom in Christ (2 Peter 1:3-11). Peter intended to continue to remind Christians of these things as long as he lived, even though the time of his departure was near, so they could continue to be encouraged in them after his passing (2 Peter 1:12-15). Peter assured his fellow Christians: they had not been deceived by myths or fables, for Peter was an eyewitness of the glory of Jesus, particularly in His transfiguration, and they could be strengthened as well by the word of prophecy, not given by a prophet’s think-so, but inspired of God and carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:16-21; cf. Matthew 17:1-5).

Peter then warned Christians about the infiltration of false teachers (2 Peter 2:1-22). As there had been false prophets in Israel, so there would be false teachers among Christians, bringing in destructive heresies, promoting lasciviousness and greed (2 Peter 2:1-3). God did not spare angels when they sinned, the world in the days of Noah, or Sodom and Gomorrah, but spared Noah and Lot the righteous; therefore, God will deliver those who are His from temptation, and keep the wicked under punishment until judgment (2 Peter 2:4-9). Peter decried these false teachers as animalistic, craven, blasphemous, revelrous, adulterous, unproductive, following the way of Balaam, enticing unstable Christians, promising them liberty, but returning to the bondage of iniquity (2 Peter 2:10-19; cf. Numbers 22:22-33). The last state of these false teachers was worse than if they had never known the way of truth and righteousness (2 Peter 2:20; cf. Proverbs 26:11)!

Peter wished to remind Christians about the warnings of the apostles and prophets: mockers following their own lusts would come, wondering why the Lord Jesus had not yet returned, and all things continued as before (2 Peter 3:1-4). Peter reminded them of the swift destruction of the world in the days of Noah by flood, and promised a future destruction by fire (2 Peter 3:5-7). A long time is nothing for God; the Lord is not delayed, but patient, not wishing for any to be condemned, but sought people’s repentance (2 Peter 3:8-9; cf. Psalm 90:4). Peter envisioned the day of judgment as the destruction of the current heavens and earth with great heat and encouraged Christians to live in holiness and righteousness, looking forward to a new heavens and earth in which righteousness dwells (2 Peter 3:10-13).

Peter began to conclude by encouraging Christians to strive to be found in peace, pure and blameless before Jesus at His coming (2 Peter 3:14). Christians must consider the patience of Jesus as salvation, as Paul had also written; Peter commended Paul’s writings, recognizing the difficulties in understanding certain things Paul wrote which many twist and distort to their own condemnation (2 Peter 3:15-16). Christians must be careful lest they fall from their steadfastness into the error of the wicked; they must grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus (2 Peter 3:17-18a). Peter concluded with a short doxology, glorifying Jesus (2 Peter 3:18b).

Christians do well to gain encouragement and heed the exhortation of Peter’s final words. May we seek to make our calling and election sure, on guard against false teaching, striving for peace and growth in faith, holiness, and righteousness, eagerly awaiting the return of the Lord Jesus!

Ethan R. Longhenry

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The Mystery of the Gospel

Paul did well at encouraging his fellow Christians with reminders of all the spiritual blessings with which God has blessed them in Christ, praying they might be able to understand the greatness of the salvation they obtained in Christ, the head of the church (Ephesians 1:1-23). Paul explained the nature of that salvation, how all had sinned and yet God showed love, grace, and mercy through Jesus to provide a means of salvation so Christians could be full of good works (Ephesians 2:1-10). Paul made it known how this salvation was offered to Gentiles, those of the nations: the hostility which had existed between the people of God and the nations was killed by Jesus on the cross, and He can now make all into one man in one body (Ephesians 2:11-18). Anyone can now be a fellow-citizen of the household of God and become part of the holy temple of God in the Spirit (Ephesians 2:19-22).

On account of these great blessings and salvation, Paul would again pray on behalf of his fellow Christians, but not until he explained the mystery of the Gospel regarding which he had already made many allusions (Ephesians 3:1-13). Paul envisioned his current imprisonment as a benefit for the Christians to whom he wrote, for it is to their glory (Ephesians 3:1, 13); he is imprisoned for his work in proclaiming among the Gentiles the mystery which God revealed to him, something not made known to previous generations of God’s people but now manifested in what God has accomplished in Jesus (Ephesians 3:1-5). It is easy to think of “mystery” in terms of either a “whodunit,” a crime story in which a sleuth uses all the clues to ascertain and indict the criminal, or something vague, unknown, and unknowable, yet Paul came out with a full explanation of this mystery: Gentiles can be fellow heirs, fellow members, and fellow partakers in the body and promises of Christ (Ephesians 3:6). It is not as if this mystery came without any warning or previous information: all of what Jesus accomplished had been prophesied in the Law, the Writings, and the Prophets (Luke 24:44). Yet the hand of God is evident in the story of Jesus, for while all He did was prophesied, people would not of their own invention or volition put the story together the way in which it came to pass in Christ. Thus the mystery of the Gospel was unveiled in the work which God accomplished in Jesus and communicated by the Spirit (Ephesians 3:1-6)!

Paul proclaimed the Gospel among the Gentiles by the commission of God in Christ who saved him despite his unworthiness, having been a persecutor of the church (Ephesians 3:7-8; cf. 1 Timothy 1:12-16). God hid this mystery prepared before the beginning of the world until the time of Christ, and now not only can all men hear and see it, but the manifold wisdom of God as manifest in the church is displayed to all the powers and principalities of heaven (Ephesians 3:9-10). The wisdom of God manifest in the church was the eternal purpose He established in Christ, through whom we now have boldness and access in faith to God (Ephesians 3:11-12). An eternal purpose continues perpetually in at least one direction; therefore, God’s purposes in Christ remain as active today as they did when the Lord Jesus arose and the Apostles walked the earth. Furthermore, Paul established the high level of importance God places on the church: it is no mere accident, “Plan B,” or holding pattern, but the ultimate realization of His wisdom. The church represents many groups of people who otherwise would be at odds with each other but have become one body in Jesus, and that is a powerful testimony to the working of God in Christ to all the powers and principalities which have worked to keep mankind divided. Thanks to Jesus we can have boldness before God in access in faith; we do not deserve any standing before God because of what we have done, but Jesus’ sacrifice cleanses us and allows us to stand before God and make our requests known.

Paul then got around to making the prayer which he planned on making: that God would strengthen the Christians with power through His Spirit in their souls to comprehend the love of Christ which is beyond knowledge, having been filled with Christ and the fullness of God and rooted and grounded in love (Ephesians 3:14-19). Paul praised God as the One able to do beyond what Christians could ask or think according to the power at work within them, seeking that He might be glorified in Christ and the church for eternity (Ephesians 3:20-21). This prayer may seem confusing: how can Christians come to any kind of understanding of something that surpasses knowledge? This is precisely Paul’s point; he wished for Christians to realize the vastness of God’s love for us in Christ and to be continually humbled by and thankful for it. Paul also invited Christians to consider the greatness of that power of God: He is able to do anything beyond our imagination, and does so by the power at work within us, but only if we ask. Do we ask to obtain that power from God to accomplish His purposes? Do we limit what God is able to do through us because of a lack of imagination or willingness to ask for mighty things to be accomplished? Do we truly believe that God is as willing to do such things as we profess confidence in His ability to do so?

Paul thus laid out the mystery of God in Christ: Jesus lived, died, and was raised again in power, and now serves as Lord. All have sinned but can find salvation in Jesus; in Jesus can be found spiritual blessings beyond imagination, and God is at work advancing His purposes in Jesus and the church in full display before the powers and principalities in the heavenly places. May we submit to the Lord Jesus Christ and trust in God and His power to accomplish great things through us to His glory and honor!

Ethan R. Longhenry

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The Christian and the Assembly

Not forsaking our own assembling together, as the custom of some is, but exhorting one another; and so much the more, as ye see the day drawing nigh (Hebrews 10:25).

From the beginning Christianity has been about far more than the assembly; Christianity is the single-minded dedication to following the path of Jesus of Nazareth, humbly serving and suffering in His name so as to obtain the resurrection of life (Matthew 16:24, Romans 8:17-18, 1 Peter 2:18-25, 1 John 2:3-6). And yet the assembly has always been an important part of Christianity, built into the name chosen by Jesus for the collective of the people who follow Him: what is an assembly (the primary meaning of the Greek word ekklesia) which does not assemble (cf. Matthew 16:18)? What kind of congregation does not congregate?

For almost two thousand years Christians have come together on the first day of the week according to the Lord’s command to share in the communion and memorial of His death in the Lord’s Supper, pray together, sing together, hear the Word of God read, preached, and taught, and give to accomplish the purposes of Jesus through the local congregation (Acts 20:7, 1 Corinthians 10:16-17, 11:17-34, 14:15-17, 26, 16:1-3, Ephesians 5:19, Colossians 3:16, 1 Timothy 4:13, 2 Timothy 4:2-4). Christians do well to meet together at other occasions, whether as a full assembly or in smaller contexts, and do what they can to encourage one another (Hebrews 10:24). Nevertheless, the assembly of Christians on the first day of the week has always been the anchor of participation together in the life of Christ. In many places and times the people of Jesus have risked life and limb in order to come together, enjoy sweet communion with their fellow Christians, drew strength from one another and their time together in the matters of the faith, and considered it all worthwhile despite the danger.

Plenty of societal forces in the modern Western world conspire against robust participation in the assembly of Christians. Our technological advances and devices have done as much to tear or keep us apart as they have done to bring us together: we find ourselves endlessly distracted by movies, social media, television, and other entertainment outlets. Everything has become specialized; each of us finds a particular niche of specialty, and depend upon others who have developed other niche specialties in other contexts. Children are expected to participate in all kinds of extracurricular activities which consume most of the time spent outside of school, eating, and sleeping. Confidence in and loyalty to institutions have reached historic lows: American individualism has corroded almost every sense of community we have with our fellow human beings. Churches themselves have often not helped. Too many assemblies are professionally designed and equipped spectacles, a thing to watch in entertainment as opposed to something in which one meaningfully participates. Some assemblies have become extended advertisements or rallies for preferred political or social agendas, using the time in the assembly not to truly edify and encourage but to justify current trends or behaviors, to condemn others without introspection, or to use forms of the wisdom of the world in a misbegotten attempt to uphold the principles of God or some subculture. Some seem to spend more time exhorting about the importance of the assembly than working to make it truly encouraging and edifying to those who participate. For these and many other reasons participation in the assembly is in decline in many parts of Christianity in Western culture even as interest in Jesus of Nazareth remains strong. Not a few books and articles have been written to justify “being a Christian but not in a church.”

We must emphasize that Jesus saves people as individuals: all must come to faith in Jesus and seek His will to be saved (Acts 2:36, 40, 16:31, Romans 1:16). Yet God’s purpose has never been to leave individual Christians in that atomized state alone; in Jesus God has reconciled all people together so Christians can be one as God is one (John 17:20-23, Ephesians 2:11-18). The church and its assemblies are not God’s “Plan B,” a cosmic accident, or some kind of add-on to the Gospel story: the church is the means by which God displays His manifold wisdom to the powers and principalities in the heavenly places, the outworking of His eternal purpose in Christ (Ephesians 3:10-11). The church expresses God’s ultimate purpose for mankind: in former days, Israel according to the flesh, when they gathered together, represented the assembly of the people of God (e.g. 1 Kings 8:2); Jesus then reconstitutes the assembly of the people of God around Himself in His death and resurrection, bringing together those of Israel according to the flesh who believe and those of the nations who believe, making them one new man in Him (Ephesians 2:11-22). All of the portrayals of the church in Scripture center on individuals working individually but very much comprehensively together for the benefit of the collective: the church as household, indicating the familial “brother” and “sister” relationship among Christians; the church as temple, suggesting holiness but also joint participation, and of course the church as a body, in which the function of each part works to make the whole function together (Romans 12:3-8, 1 Corinthians 12:12-28, Ephesians 2:18-22, 1 Peter 2:3-9). The final picture of the salvation of the people of God is as the bride of Christ, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven (Revelation 21:1-22:6): it is a picture of God glorifying the church (cf. Ephesians 5:22-33). People in Western culture may imagine themselves as “Christians without churches,” but such a thing is foreign to Jesus Himself, for a Christian not in the church is separated from the body of Christ (Romans 12:3-8, 1 Corinthians 12:12-28).

Jesus wants His body to work together to build itself up in love (Ephesians 4:11-16). While edification can and must be done outside of the assembly, the role of the assembly in edification and encouragement looms large in all discussions of the nature of the church. As families spend time together, so the household of God assembles. As bodies involve parts working together in close proximity, dependent on each other’s functions, so Christians come together in the assembly and many accomplish many of their roles in the body of Christ as part of the assembly (cf. Ephesians 4:11-12). From the beginning of Christianity until now the assembly of the local church has proven vital in the continual reinforcement and strengthening of individual Christians in their relationships with God and with one another.

Churches are full of imperfect people; we all are sinners in need of redemption in Jesus (Romans 3:20, 23). In a world saturated with individualism and alienation, the assembly of the saints proves to be a powerful testimony of the work God is accomplishing in Christ to reconcile all people to Himself. The visible unity of the Body of Christ is far more important than the challenges and difficulties that come with interacting with other people: we must be with our people while we have the chance. Let us then pledge to not forsake the assembling of ourselves together and strive to encourage one another in the assembly!

Ethan R. Longhenry

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Americanism Versus Christianity

For two thousand years Christians have lived under many different earthly rulers and nation-states. Many Christians today live as citizens of the United States of America. America has provided many blessings for Christians: we have not known much persecution and have enjoyed general religious tolerance for many years. We have freedom of speech and freedom of religion; we can freely promote the faith and distribute materials regarding the Gospel boldly. Many today live in other nation-states and under different rulers who do not provide these freedoms or benefits. We should not only be thankful for the benefits which come from living in America, but above all things to be sure we take full advantage of them so as to advance God’s purposes to further His glory.

Nevertheless, contrary to the belief of many, the United States of America does not represent the Kingdom of Christ on earth. God no doubt has provided blessings upon the United States, and likely has some plan or intention to accomplish in and through it, but we have no justification to suggest that God has chosen or favored the United States of America over any other nation-state, or that citizens of the United States of America maintain special standing or benefit before God. Even with all its benefits, the United States of America is a nation-state among nation-states: it has risen, it maintains power, but one day it will also fall (unless the Lord returns first). And yet the Gospel of Christ will remain; Christians serving in His Kingdom will endure (1 Peter 1:23-25).

Christians must never be deceived by the powers and principalities of the world to attempt to wrap the cross of Christ in the Stars and Stripes of America. The goal of Christianity is not the attainment of the “American Dream”; one can be a perfectly fine citizen of the United States of America while remaining disobedient to the purposes of God manifest in the Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 7:21-23). While many aspects of American governance and culture may be commendable, many other aspects of the United States of America stand in variance against the values of the Kingdom of God in Christ. We do well to explore some of these points of divergence.

If there is a national religion in the United States, it is the pursuit of the “Almighty Dollar.” In America everything has its value and price; Americans seek to monetize more and more aspects of life. While Christians ought to work to make a living, they also must find contentment in whatever they have been given (Ephesians 4:28, 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15, 1 Timothy 6:6-8). Far too many Americans have fallen prey to the idolatry of covetousness, believing the accumulation of money and things will provide solace, comfort, and strength, and have pierced themselves with many griefs (1 Timothy 6:9-10).

One does not have to travel far in the United States to perceive the power of its patriotism and nationalism. Americans often prove excessively proud of their country, its ideals, and its heritage; many remain convinced that the United States of America is exceptionally the best at almost everything. Christians ought to be thankful for the benefits and blessings they enjoy as citizens of the United States of America and use those benefits to the advancement of God’s purposes (1 Timothy 2:1-3); to find value in one’s identity as an American is not automatically a bad thing. Unfortunately, however, Americans all too easily fall prey to overweening pride: it is easy to attempt to justify, rationalize, or excuse the evils done by past generations and presume that the United States has always been in the right when it has acted. What Paul and John says about people in Galatians 6:3 and 1 John 1:8, 10 is true of such a view of the United States of America: its people have sinned, and to deny that sin is to be self-deceived and a liar. Americans can be easily seduced into thinking that American lives are worth more than the lives of people in other countries; while we certainly understand that any nation-state must consider the interests of its own people above the interests of others, Christians must confess that each and every person has equal value as a child of God and can obtain equal standing before God through faith in Jesus (Galatians 3:28, Colossians 3:11, 1 Timothy 2:4).

These trials, and many others, all stem from the root of selfishness. The American ethos has prized the “self-made man” and the “lone ranger”: indivdiualism is highly prized and exalted in the United States and has grown ravenously in recent generations. While Americans have become sharply divided in their politics as of late, both sides attempt to prove themselves the champions of individual freedom and liberty on some issue or another and portray the other side as involving the government in your personal business. Americans have always looked askance at inherited authority or authority figures; Americans do not like being told what they should do. God loves each individual person and wishes for their salvation (John 3:16, 1 Timothy 2:4); nevertheless, in the Kingdom of God, emphasis on individualism is decried as selfish ambition, and runs contrary to God’s purposes in Christ (cf. James 3:13-18). Jesus died for all mankind to be reconciled to God and to one another; oneness in relationship demands concession, compromise, humility, and the willingness to consider the interests of others greater than our own (Matthew 20:25-28, John 17:20-23, Philippians 2:1-4). Christians are to obey earthly authorities, recognizing that they all have power because God has given it to them (Romans 13:1-7, 1 Peter 2:11-18); they must privilege their citizenship in the Kingdom of Jesus over any other loyalty (Philippians 3:20-21). One cannot be in Christ unless one is part of Christ’s body, which is manifest on earth as the church (Romans 12:3-8, 1 Corinthians 10:16-17, 12:12-28, Ephesians 1:22-23, 2:18-20); in Christianity, a “self-made man” lives under a delusion, and a “lone ranger” is easy pickings for the Evil One (Galatians 6:3-4, 1 Peter 5:8).

We Christians who live as citizens of the United States of America have a choice: we can be Christian Americans, wrapping the cross in the flag, establishing our purpose as “re-Christianizing” America, and emphasize our identity as Americans, or we can be American Christians, obeying our elected officials, paying taxes, and being the best citizens we can, but recognizing that our short time on earth is best spent attempting to advance the purposes of the enduring Kingdom of Jesus and manifesting less concern for the fate of the particular nation-state under which we live. American Christians can find commendation in Scripture (Philippians 3:20-21); no such commendation can be found for Christian Americans. We must not allow ourselves to be deceived into thinking that whatever America is or does is best for the Kingdom of God; we must be on guard against the idolatrous tendencies of covetousness, patriotism, nationalism, and individualism. May we serve God in the Kingdom of Christ!

Ethan R. Longhenry

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The Christian and Fear

Franklin Delano Roosevelt famously declared, “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” The line made for a stirring call to action, but the human experience suggests its substance is suspect. If are honest with ourselves, we must recognize our constant struggle with various fears and the temptation to live by them.

Fear can be manifest in many ways. We think of fear primarily in terms of terror or reverence. We can become terrified in the middle of an experience (e.g. at a haunted house, watching a horror movie, finding ourselves in a dangerous environment), or be terrified at the prospect or threat of an experience (e.g. being harmed or rejected, reliving trauma). We also can maintain respect for a person or institution in a reverential way, enabling obedience so as to not experience unpleasant consequences. But fear can also exist underneath the surface, energizing insecurities, anxieties, and even in general attitudes or dispositions.

Fear remains a complex and primal phenomenon, and one not altogether evil. God made humanity with a built-in fear response conditioning, and for good reason: humans all too often allow their brains to get ahead of their physical abilities. A person becomes afraid when he or she perceives danger, real or perceived, often instigating the “flight or fight” mechanism so as to survive. There is such a thing as a healthy dose of fear, helping us recognize our limitations, and not act in self-destructive ways.

Nevertheless, as with all things, the fear impulse has been corrupted because of the fall (Genesis 3:1-23, Romans 5:12-21). By its nature fear motivates and paralyzes: while fear can motivate good behavior and paralyze us away from bad behavior, all too often fear motivates ugly and ungodly behavior while paralyzing us from pursuing the right and good way. Fear has become the choice weapon of Satan, the powers and principalities, and plenty of humans, for people all too easily will capitulate to your desires if you manipulate them based on what they fear. How many times have people assented to or even participated in heinous evil, all because they were driven by fear? How many times has the good been left undone because those who were in a position to do so justified themselves in their fear?

It would be nice and easy if Christians were to always uphold reverential fear while avoiding all terrors, but neither Scripture nor life is that simple. Christians must exercise proper discernment to know when to show proper reverence, when to listen to the fear impulse, and when to persevere despite fears. Christians must revere authorities empowered by God in Christ, including government (Romans 13:1-7, 1 Peter 2:11-17); above all things Christians must revere God Himself (2 Corinthians 7:1, Ephesians 5:21). And yet Christians must not show reverence to the gods of this world (cf. 1 Corinthians 10:19-33, Revelation 2:20); while Christians must show proper honor to earthly authorities, they are not justified in showing so much reverence to them as to no longer honor God in disobedience against His purposes (Acts 5:29, Revelation 13:1-18, 14:12). The one commandment given more than any other in the Scriptures is “do not fear” (e.g. Matthew 10:31, 1 Peter 3:14): God would have us put our trust in Him and to not give in to the fear impulse so as to do the wrong or not do the right. But why would the command to not be afraid prove more necessary than any other? We often find ourselves afraid, for the fear impulse is basic, primal, and almost reflexive, and there remain circumstances when the fear impulse is valuable, keeping us from acting foolishly, rashly, and warning us of possible dangers or temptations (cf. 1 Corinthians 10:13).

Christians do well to speak to their fears. On the surface this may seem strange; how can we communicate with our fears? They cannot respond, no? And yet what we must really do is to seek to understand why the fear impulse has been raised. We must never automatically think, feel, or act in any given way because we have become afraid: we are more likely than not going to be led into sin if we give into our impulses. Instead, we must explore why we have become afraid. What is the danger we fear? Why are we afraid of this matter or circumstance? Is our fear at all justified, or is it rooted in our deep-seated anxieties and insecurities? If we think, feel, or act on this fear, will it motivate us toward righteousness and paralyze us against evil? Or will we be motivated toward evil and paralyzed against the good? Only through such discernment can we think, feel, and act in ways which can glorify God through or despite our fears.

Yet none ought to be deceived: paradoxically, fear is as dangerous an impulse as it is an impulse regarding danger. Fear of condemnation may motivate a person toward righteousness for a time but it rarely proves sufficient by itself to endure to the end (Matthew 10:22). We are all too easily deceived into thinking our ungodly fears are actually justifiable and acceptable; sadly, we are all too easily deceived into thinking that the fears that motivate us do not really exist, or are not fears at all! We must humbly admit the strong power fear has over how we think, feel, and act; we must exercise great care in exhortations rooted in fear lest we prove guilty of manipulation and not persuasion in love. We must recognize fear for what it is and yet grow in our faith and trust in God, confident that the perfect love which comes from above casts out fear (1 John 4:18). As we grow in faith and trust we will have deep-seated fears and anxieties exposed; we must accept that painful experience, continue to grow in faith and trust, and overcome those fears (cf. James 1:22-25). In that growth we will encounter many situations in which we are afraid, and we must learn to overcome that fear and act according to the will of the Lord to the advancement of His purposes.

Fear is powerful, but God is even greater than our fears. May we as Christians not give ground to the forces of evil which would cause us to fear, but overcome all fear in faith in God in Christ, and obtain the resurrection of life!

Ethan R. Longhenry

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History of the Bible, I: Toward Canonization

God has spoken and made known His will and purposes through His servants the prophets and ultimately through His Son Jesus Christ (Hebrews 1:1). The prophets, the Apostles, and their associates preserved those messages from God in the pages of Scripture (2 Timothy 3:15-17). The Scriptures are of the greatest importance and value for those who wish to know what God would have them think, feel, and do. Can we have confidence in the validity of the Biblical text as it has been handed down? We do well to explore the history of the Bible, and begin with the movement toward canonization of the text.

“Canonization” is the process of establishing the books which are legitimately part of Scripture as opposed to the writings of men, between those inspired by God and those produced through human endeavor. The Hebrew Bible, or the Old Testament, had been written from 1400 through 420 BCE. Its final canonical form as we have it today was established in the first century of our era, but its general outline had been recognized long before. It is true that many later works were also translated or written as part of the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament: these works, which would become the Apocrypha, were recognized as “deuterocanonical” in antiquity, thus not inspired. Only far later, toward the end of the first millennium CE, did anyone begin considering the Apocrypha to be inspired Scripture, and that only in Roman Catholicism.

The New Testament was written between 30 and 100 CE by the Apostles and their associates, all inspired by the Holy Spirit to set down the preaching and teaching regarding Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, lordship and kingdom, and eventual return (Matthew 18:18, John 20:30-31, Ephesians 3:1-7, etc.). Once the Apostles and all the people of their generation passed on, none remained who had seen Jesus in His life, death, or resurrection; nevertheless, their testimony remained, proclaimed by Christians who had been taught by the Apostles or their associates (cf. 2 Timothy 2:1-2), and on the basis of what the Apostles and their associates had written in the books which would become the New Testament. They constantly referred back to what the Apostles had taught and cited or quoted passages from all sorts of New Testament books.

Yet by the second century many heresies had arisen; some claimed authority on the basis of texts other than the New Testament (e.g. the Gnostics, who wrote all kinds of treatises in the names of the Apostles), while others cast aspersions on the legitimacy of certain apostolic witnesses (e.g. Marcion, who accepted only Luke’s Gospel, Acts, and some of Paul’s letters). Early Christians would have to establish the authoritative texts on which to establish the truths of the faith and its practice, and quickly.

This process was not as late or as contested as is often portrayed. By 200, by 200 CE, only a very few dared to question the authority and authorship of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1/2 Corinthians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1/2 Thessalonians, 1/2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, James, 1 Peter, and 1 John. Some contested Hebrews on account of its anonymity, and Revelation on the basis of its abuse by heretics; 2/3 John are short, which may explain why we see few references to them. 2 Peter is the only book to be seriously questioned in terms of its apostolic origin, but even then, few ultimately quarreled with its inclusion into the canon. A few early Christians believed in the inspiration of some later writings, including 1 and 2 Clement, the Shepherd of Hermas, and the Epistle of Barnabas.

Early Christians did not arbitrarily or haphazardly decide which books were inspired versus which ones were not. They used very sensible guidelines. Of great importance was authorship: who is claimed to have written the text? Is there any evidence from previous testimony to justify the claim? Was this person truly inspired to write the text? Was the author an Apostle, or an immediate associate of an Apostle, and thus does the text maintain the seal of apostolic authority? Does the work bear the hand of the Holy Spirit, or does it betray the hand of man?

Early Christians wrestled with these questions for the next few hundred years. By the middle of the fourth century, most rejected 1/2 Clement, the Shepherd of Hermas, the Epistle of Barnabas, and many others because they did not meet most of the criteria for canonization. Serious doubts existed about Barnabas being the real author of the Epistle of Barnabas; it was thus not inspired but pseudepigraphical. Most believed 2 Clement was pseudepigraphical as well, although few doubted that Clement actually wrote 1 Clement, perhaps even in the late first century (70-100?); nevertheless, it did not bear the mark of inspiration. The Shepherd of Hermas, and others, had devotional value, but were written far too late to be inspired (middle of the second century or later).

Many early Christians believed Paul wrote the letter to the Hebrews; those who disagreed still believed its author to be a person in Paul’s entourage (Barnabas or Apollos), and the hand of the Holy Spirit is manifest in it. Revelation’s inspiration was never in doubt; the question was its abuse by heretics. In the end, the quality of its inspiration was sufficient to seal its place in the canon.

In 367, Athanasius, “Bishop” of Alexandria, sent out a Festal letter to the Catholic churches of the west and east, and within its pages set out the books of the New Testament, correlating with our own today. This same list was “ratified” by the Third Council of Carthage in 397 CE, effectively closing the canon of Scripture.

Claims that the “Catholic church” decided upon the Bible in the fourth century, therefore, overstates the evidence. The general contours of the New Testament were never in doubt; later councils simply ratified what has been generally agreed upon for centuries. Many of the apocryphal and pseudepigraphal works written between the testaments and soon after the New Testament have been preserved; we today can read them and come to a better appreciation as to why early Christians recognized them as uninspired. We have every reason to maintain confidence in the inspiration of the books of the Old and New Testament!

Ethan R. Longhenry

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