FEB 4

John 16:13
Memorise John 10:27
“…the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth”

John 16:13 teaches us that God’s Spirit, who indwells each and every believer, will lead him to the truth. Just as an infant can recognize his caregiver, so too do Jesus’ sheep hear their Shepherd’s voice (John 10:27). This is the underlying principle which guided the early church leaders such as Athanasius in 367 AD in his quest to identify the NT books which were divinely inspired. Books which contained material that were inconsistent with Jesus’ character, person or work were excluded. So too were those which contradicted the OT (Nature of the book). Whether a particular book was written by an apostle or a close associate (Authorship) and was commonly used in the churches throughout the Body of Christ (Universality) were also considered. Were there recognisable marks of inspiration? In other words, did the book have a spiritual character that agreed with the Holy Spirit which indwells all believers? Thus the early church Fathers made decisions according to their understanding of God and His Word, and were guided by the Holy Spirit. This process was repeated by councils in Laodicea (AD 363), Hippo (AD 393) and Carthage in (AD 397). 27 books were eventually identified as inspired NT scripture.

God may not have specifically declared that there would be 27 NT books. Nonetheless we can be absolutely sure by that the logic of faith that God would certainly guide the early church leaders to rightly identify which of the books written would form the official canon of scripture.

The logic of faith is not some vague concept which theologians use as an excuse to explain away issues which may be controversial or difficult to understand. Just as we suspect a rumour about someone whom we know intimately is untrue because what is said is inconsistent with that person’s character, we who are God’s children should also be able to recognize it should we encounter blasphemous lies against God or our Lord Jesus. Thank God that we now have the complete and perfect Bible which is self- authenticating (proves itself to be true) which we should prayerfully use with the Holy Spirit’s help as our guide unto all truth.

Thought: Faith and logic work hand in hand. There is no such thing as ‘blind faith’, or a ‘leap of faith into the dark’.
Prayer: O Lord, Thy Word is indeed true, every jot and tittle of it.