The five books of Moses in the Old Testament have always been recognized by the Jews as having come from God and having absolute divine authority, because they were revealed by God, written by Moses, and passed down through the generations by their fathers. Up to this day, although the Jews recognize the entire Old Testament as originating from God, they have always given the five books of Moses a special position. At least two or three copies of the Pentateuch are to be found in every Jewish synagogue throughout the world. The Jews may not have the other books of the Old Testament, but they will always have the five books of Moses.
The other books of the Old Testament, because of their value and authority, were also recognized, one after another, by God’s people as having come from God. A certain writer has said that a tree does not necessarily need to have its name labeled, but it only needs to grow, blossom, and bear fruit, and then it will naturally be recognized by men as to what kind of tree it is. Similarly, it is not really necessary to mark out clearly whether the different books of the Bible are of God, for as each book passes through the test of time, its value and authority will spontaneously become manifest. This word is really well said and true. Following the Pentateuch, throughout the generations some among God’s people were inspired to write the word of God. What they had written, after an extended period of testing by time, was recognized by God’s people as having originated from God, because authority and power were found in their writings.
In 457 B.C., Ezra the scribe collected the Pentateuch and the authoritative writings generally acknowledged among God’s people and arranged them to form the Old Testament. (However, two books—Nehemiah and Malachi—were missing because they were not yet written.) Both Josephus, the authoritative Jewish historian, and the Gentile historians confirmed this matter.
After Ezra, among the Jews there was a group of scribes called the Great Synagogue that continued to do the work of compilation and reviewing; the work was completed in 400 B.C. The Old Testament which they confirmed contained all the books we have today. Hence, by 400 B.C. not only the writing of the Old Testament was completed, but the Old Testament had also been confirmed and generally recognized. In any case, at the latest by 277 B.C., when seventy scholars translated the Old Testament into Greek, all the books of the Old Testament must have been established.
The Gospels and the Old Testament were frequently read in the early church meetings. Hence, among the books of the New Testament, the four Gospels were the earliest ones to be recognized by the church.
After the passing away of the apostles, confusion arose due to some who wrote books by assuming the identity of others. Hence, the leaders in the early churches, the so-called church fathers, collected all the writings of the apostles and ranked them together with the Gospels. Shortly after the martyrdom of Polycarp, all the churches generally agreed in their view concerning the New Testament except for Hebrews, James, 2 Peter, 2 John, 3 John, Jude, and Revelation. There was still disagreement as to whether these seven books should be included in the Bible or not. Nevertheless, because these seven books were definitely written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, possessing divine authority and value, after another long period of testing by time, in the year A.D. 397, at the council held in Carthage, which was in the northern part of Africa, the leaders of the churches gathered together and recognized these seven books as a part of the New Testament. They also announced that the New Testament was comprised of twenty-seven books, similar to what we have today. Hence, by A.D. 397, during the council of Carthage, the entire Bible, including the Old and New Testaments, was generally acknowledged and confirmed by God’s people.
The entire Bible is God’s breath. Each book of the Bible is God’s revelation with every line and word coming from the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The Scripture is infallible. The functions of the Bible are: 1) it testifies concerning the Lord Jesus; 2) it makes man wise unto salvation and is the seed of regeneration in man; 3) it is the believers’ spiritual milk and food; and 4) it makes the man of God complete.