Jesus Series
04/18/2019, by John Kincaid
Lesson 2036: Which Books Belong in the Bible? Pt.4
Test 4: Did the book come with the power of God?
Rom.1:16 The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation.
Heb.4:12 God’s Word is alive and powerful.
Is the book clearly above other books, with the power to transform hearts?
Test 5: The book was accepted by the people of God.
People simply recognized these books were inspired. The local churches collected them into the final group of books we call the Bible.
Do we have proof that the people of God recognized these 66 books using these 5 tests? Yes.
The Early Church Fathers quoted frequently from the books in the New Testament during the century from 100-200 AD.
By 200 AD, all 27 books of the New Testament had been quoted (accepted as part of the inspired Word of God) in some other writing.
The reason why this is so important: we’re talking about actual historical evidence, not a theory.
The books were accepted by the people of God, not in the 4th or 5th century, but immediately, during the lives of the Apostles and right after.
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