ORIGIN

The Bible is the Word of God, but God Himself did not take a pen and write His Word down for man. God did what He has always done when He wished to speak to the human race: He chose certain persons to communicate His Word to the world. God inspired -"breathed His Word" -into the hearts of holy men and they proclaimed and wrote God's Word down for us all. In the words of the Bible itself, holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21).  It was these holy men who wrote and left us the heritage of the Word of God. Harold Lindsell and Charles J. Woodbridge state it well:"

The Scriptures originated in the mind of God, but the manner in which He arranged for their human authorship and compilation is interesting.

1. The Old Testament, according to the traditional view, was prepared somewhat as follows: Moses wrote the five books of the Lawand placed them in the Tabernacle beside the Ark of the Covenant. Joshua added his record to the volume (see Joshua 24: 26), and Samuel continued the story(see I Samuel 10:25). This entire library was subsequently lost. When rediscovered and publicly read, it produced a revival. (See 2 Kings 22:8). The writings of the earlier prophets were then added to the series. The later prophets were familiar with these writings (e.g: Zechariah 7:12). Thus the collection gradually expanded.

The assembling of the Old Testament books into an official canon began shortly after the captivity(586 B.C.). The word “canon” means a “rod” or a “rule”, i.e: a standard of that which is to be believed (see Galatians 6:16). When Haggai (the prophet) and others had completed their ministry, the need was felt for a formal collection of the documents which the people already regarded as of divine origin.  According to the best tradition Ezra and Nehemiah, and after them a group of scribes completed the canonization of the Old Testament.

2. The New Testament canon came into being as follows: When the books appeared, addressed usually to particular churches, copies were made and sent to other congregations. Exchanges of books took place (see Colossians 4:16). Lists of these apostolic books were prepared. By the fourth century some fifteen such catalogues had been published. Gradually, not by the vote of any particular church council, but by the consent of the “universal church consciousness” (it was recognized) that these books, and these alone were the inspired Word of God. The New Testament canon emerged as we have it today. We have here a magnificent example of the preserving and superintending power of the Holy Spirit    (Harold Lindsell and Charles J. Woodbridge. A Handbook of Christian Truth. Westwood, NJ: Fleming H. Revell Company, A Division of Baker Book House, 1953, p.20-21).