DID THE 1ST CENTURY CHURCH HAVE NEW TESTAMENT SCRIPTURES?   BY STEVE FINNELL

The prevailing thought of many is that since the Bible was not canonized until sometime between 300 and 400 A.D. that the church of Christ did not have New Covenant Scriptures as their guide for faith and practice. That is simply factually incorrect.

The Lord's church of the first 400 years did not rely on the man-made traditions of men for New Testament guidance.

Jesus gave the terms for pardon 33 A.D. after His death and resurrecting. (Mark 16:16) All the words of Jesus were Scripture.Jesus did not have to wait for canonization of the New Testament in order for His word to be authorized.

The terms for pardon were repeated by the apostle Peter 33 A.D. on the Day of Pentecost. (Acts 2:22-42) The teachings of the apostles were Scripture. The words of the apostles were Scripture before they were canonized.

The apostle Peter said the apostle Paul's words were Scripture. (2 Peter 3:15-16...just as also our beloved brother Paul , according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, 16 as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand,which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures...

The apostle Paul's letters and words were Scriptures when he wrote and spoke them. Paul did not have to wait for canonization to authorize his doctrine.

John 14:25-26 'These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to you remembrance all that I said to you.

The words and writings of the apostles were Scripture and they did not have to wait for canonization to be deemed authoritative. The apostle did not use man-made creed books of the church or man-made oral traditions to teach the gospel of the New Covenant.

Did the early church have written New testament Scriptures? Yes, and they were shared among the different congregations. (Colossians 4:16 When the letter is read among you, have it read in the church of the Laodiceans and you, for your part read my letter that is coming from Laodica.) Paul's letters were Scripture and they were read in different churches.

They were New Testament Scriptures long before they were canonized.

WRITTEN

Matthew A.D. 70

Mark A.D. 55

Luke  between A.D. 59 and 63

John A.D. 85

Acts A.D. 63

Romans A.D. 57

1 Corinthians A.D. 55

2 Corinthians A.D. 55

Galatians A.D. 50

Ephesians A.D. 60

Philippians A.D. 61

Colossians A. D. 60

1 Thessalonians A.D. 51

2 Thessalonians A.D. 51 or 52

1 Timothy A.D. 64

2 Timothy A.D. 66

Titus A.D. 64

Philemon A.D. 64

Hebrews A.D. 70

James A.D. 50

1 Peter A.D. 64

2 Peter A.D. 66

1 John A.D. 90

2 John A.d. 90

3 John A.D. 90

Jude A.D. 65

Revelation A.D. 95

           

All 27 books of the New Testament were Scripture when they were written. They did not have wait until they were canonized before they became God's word to mankind.

Jesus told the eleven disciples make disciples and teach them all that He commanded. (Matthew 28:16-19) That was A.D. 33, They were teaching New Covenant Scripture from A.D. 33 forward. The apostles did not wait to preach the gospel until canonization occurred 300 to 400 years later.

THE WORDS OF JESUS AND THE APOSTLES WERE SCRIPTURE WHEN THEY WERE SPOKEN AND WRITTEN. THEY DID NOT HAVE TO WAIT FOR CANONIZATION TO BE THE AUTHORIZED WORD OF GOD.

MAN-MADE CREED BOOKS AND MAN-MADE ORAL TRADITION WAS AND IS NOT SCRIPTURE.

AS A MATTER OF FACT! When God said "Let Us make man in Our image, (Genesis 1:27) it was God's Word.  God's creation of  man was true before it  was canonized 4450 years later.  The book of Genesis was Scripture the moment it was written.  Man-Made oral tradition was not, nor will it ever be Scripture.