Forming the Bible Cannon

How did we decide which books were inspired and meant to be in the Bible?

Introduction

In most Protestant Bibles, There are 39 books in the Old Testament and 27 books in the New Testament. The Catholic Bible also includes the Apocrypha, which contains an additional 15 books. Then there are the Gnostic writings known as the codices, which were found in Nag Hammadi. With so many texts floating around how did they know what was supposed to be included and what wasn't?
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The Old Testament

There are two versions of the old testament—the original Hebrew which does not include the Apocrypha, and the Greek translation which does contain the Apocrypha^[5]. By the time of Jesus, there was an accepted canon of which Jesus frequently quotes^[1][2]. Jesus also confirms the Old Testament by referencing the three divisions of the Old Testament in Luke 24:44. BiblicalTraining.org has a thorough article on the canonization of the old testament which can be found here. Many discoveries concerning the Old Testament stem from the archeological find of the Dead Sea Scrolls
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The New Testament

The New Testament is much more complicated in terms of how the cannon was determined. Jesus confirmed the books of the Old Testament by fulfilling prophecies, quoting the scripture, and not condemning the books. If there was a problem or forgery in the Old Testament, Jesus would have called the Pharisees out on this error (after all He called them out on many other misguided practices). However, we don't have that luxury for the New Testament. In addition to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, there are has also been found gospels attributed to Mary Magdalene, Peter, James, Thomas, and others^[3]. How did people determine which should be included and which should not? Also, how do we know they chose the right books? Bible.org gives an overview on the canonization of the New (and Old) Testament in the article The Bible: The Holy Canon of Scripture. Most believers use the following criteria to confirm scripture as canon: Authorship, Witness of the Spirit, and Acceptance^[4]. Prayer and relationship with God is the only way to know for sure what is right. The best covering of this topic I've found can be found in the article entitled "How Do You Know that the Bible is Divinely Inspired."
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The Apocrypha

Coming Soon!
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Gnostic Writings

Coming Soon!
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Current Books Considered Canon

The following table lists the books currently considered to be inspired by some (or all) denominations within Christianity.

Old Testament Canon

1. Genesis
2. Exodus
3. Numbers
4. Deuteronomy
5. Leviticus
6. Joshua
7. Judges
8. Ruth
9. 1 Samuel
10. 2 Samuel
11. 1 Kings
12. 2 Kings
13. 1 Chronicles
14. 2 Chronicles
15. Ezra
16. Nehemiah
17. Ester
18. Job
19. Proverbs
20. Psalms
21. Ecclesiastes
22. Song of Solomon
23. Isaiah
24. Jeremiah
25. Lamentations
26. Ezekiel
27. Daniel
28. Hosea
29. Joel
30. Amos
31. Obadiah
32. Jonah
33. Micah
34. Nahum
35. Habakkuk
36. Zephaniah
37. Haggai
38. Zechariah
39. Malachi

New Testament Canon

1. Matthew
2. Mark
3. Luke
4. John
5. Acts
6. Romans
7. 1 Corinthians
8. 2 Corinthians
9. Galatians
10. Ephesians
11. Philippians
12. Colossians
13. 1 Thessalonians
14. 2 Thessalonians
15. 1 Timothy
16. 2 Timothy
17. Titus
18. Philemon
19. Hebrews
20. James
21. 1 Peter
22. 2 Peter
23. 1 John
24. 2 John
25. 3 John
26. Jude
27. Revelation

Apocrypha

1. 1 Esdras
2. 2 Esdras
3. Tobit
4. Judith
5. The Additions to the Book of Esther
6. Wisdom of Solomon
7. Sirach
8. Baruch
9. Story of Susanna
10. The Song of Three Children
11. The Story of Bel and the Dragon
12. The Prayer of Manasseh
13. 1 Macabees
14. 2 Macabees

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References

1. Robinson, Rich. "Jesus' References to Old Testament Scriptures". Jews for Jesus. September 2008
2. "The Canon of the Old Testament". BibleScripture.net. 2015
3. "Noncanonical Literature-Gospels". Wesley Center Online. Northwest Nazarene University. 2011
4. The Canon of Scripture. BlueLetterBible.org. 2015
5. McDowell, Josh. "What is the Apocrypha? Why Aren’t These Books Found in the Protestant Bible?". Josh.org. 2014

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