The Authors of the Canon: The New Testament Canon with Michael Kruger 

This message is from Dr. Kruger’s 6-part teaching series The New Testament Canon. Watch the entire series: www.ligonier.org/learn/series/new-testament-canon

His introduction is worth a million words. Great insight.

Michael Kruger is one of my favorite authors. I think he is one of the most underrated Christian authors today. Even his latest book, "The Bully Pulpit", is a great read. And of course his teaching series are top notch, as this video shows. Thank you for posting this.

Hope to see more of Michael on this channel. Very clear speaking easy to understand. Thank you, Ligonier!

Εξαιρετική ομιλία. Γνωρίζει σε βάθος τις Γραφές και η ορθολογική ανάλυση ακολουθεί τη σωστή θεολογική τοποθέτηση στο χώρο της ακρίβειας. Εύγε διδάσκαλε 🙏

Thank you Dr Kruger and Ligonier ❤ and above all thank you Lord for raising up man to teach us your Truth,for your Word is Truth

Excellent. Very helpful

Outstanding lesson.

If you read Luke 9 and Luke 10, it records the commissioning of, first, the 12 apostles to preach. Then in Luke 10 we are told that Jesus “appointed 70 others *ALSO* “ just as he had done with the twelve, and gave them a virtually identical commission. I believe that Mark and Luke were among these 70, and thus had apostolic authority also. This is where their authority came from, directly from Christ, not merely that they were among the company of the apostles.

Excellent! Thank you!

"scripture" was just a normal term in Greek that also had equivalence in Hebrew - I just means writing.

Luke's magna gift is allowing a searcher "to find out the answer of the mystery FIRST- going into the ACTS first!!"

The Gospel is to be preached to the whole world. God would seemingly know that the land these events unfolded in, and on, do not constitute the 'whole world. Must not forget the good book is inspired from eternity, meaning not time bound. Have to at least consider this.

Paul wrote the most Paul suffered the most Paul persecuted Christ and then suffered for him Brother Paul waiting to see you in heaven

My college edition Bible says all four Gospels are anonymous.

2 Peter 3:15-16 15 And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, 16 as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. Scholars are mostly unregenerate, unsaved.

You said the evidence for it being scripture is because the writer tells us they are passing along authoritative apostolic teaching. But I think the issue with this is that there are many many early writings that say the same thing that are not in the Bible. Because while they say that they are passing along authoritative apostolic teachings, the early church fathers rejected them as actually not being written my apostles. In fact, there were more books rejected as apostolic teachings than were included? And for some of them it was pretty close because they were written so early and were so popular. So a book or letter simply claiming to be passing along authoritative apostolic teaching was NOT the way the early church fathers tried to determined which ones were actually scripture. Surely you know this? And sometimes it seems they got it wrong. You started with Pauls letters in this video. But most Christian Biblical scholars agree that many of the letters of Paul that are actually in the Bible were not actually written by Paul. And yet they are in the Bible? There are 13 Pauline epistles in the Bible. Only 7 are regarded as actually being written by Paul. 3 are debated as uncertain, but 3 are widely accepted as not actually being written by Paul. Something I'm sure you know. So this was not an exact science at all in the early Church. Even though all these letters claimed to be written by Paul. We now know not all of them were. Same with a lot of other writings at the time. Simply claiming to write in the name of an apostle was extremely common at the time. There are many many books that have come down to us from the time claiming to have been written by apostles that were not. This is simply a terrible way to determine what is scripture and what is not. A claim itself does not mean the claim is true. As even the early Church fathers recognized? And sometimes got wrong. Like the Gospels themselves. They do not in fact claim to have been written by apostles (with the possible exception of John. But that was written so late it likely couldn't have been written by John. Plus the Bible tells us that John was illiterate)? And yet they are considered scripture? And you didn't even mention the Synoptic Problem. The fact that both Matthew and Luke copied most of the Gospel of Mark. Why would two eyewitnesses copy the story of a different eyewitness when telling their own story? By your criteria the Gospels it seems should not be included in the Bible. I simply do not understand this argument at all. It is flawed in so many ways.

How does your philosophy work now that we have so much of the dead seas scrolls?

Yes. This is a good point to start. 14 letters from Paul Inc. Hebrews. 7 letters from the disciples. 7 letters from Christ in revelations. That means 28 books. 28 is regarded as a perfect number. Now what is the Gospel? There is only ONE saving Gospel: The Gospel of Paul. This is The Gospel of God delivered by Christ to Paul. It is written in Scripture in 1.Kor 15 verses 1 to 8. In short: Christ died. Christ was buried. Christ was risen. Christ was seen. This is the only saving Gospel for Jews and Gentiles.

the earliest apostolic fathers , namely papias ignatius, justin martyr, clement of rome barely mentions paul and his doctrine of the ressurection

I wonder if Dr. Kruger discusses anywhere how present day Continuist Apostles who, upon hearing directly from Jesus, contribute further to “Scripture” by virtue of these holy conversations that they then pass on to their own flock?

AREYOU SAYING it is possible that An AUTHOR , who THOUGHT HE WAS WRITING SCRIPTURE , WAS , NOT WRITING SCRIPTURE. THAT HAS TO BE A POSSIBILITY ! BECAUSE GOD's WAYS ARE NOT OUR WAYS! That's a possibilty. Did Not Paul use the term " SO CALLED APOSTLES" . Many call James as the first letter, yet had the hardest time getting any "traction" ? And his Chapter Two, as caused so much angst, is the very foundaional letter to support all who believe in "faith works"sic?? Did NOT Jesus pick a son of the Devil. IF JAMES WAS FIRSDT, I tread Romans 3 and 4 IS A DIRECT REBUKE OF JAMES ERRORS? Using your logic, if I say, James is NOT self attesting that it being in the Canon, kicking and screaming c. 380 DOES NOTMAKE JAMES INSPIRED.. What are the signs of an APOSTLE? Name ONE act of POWER James is ever reported doing, while Paul, CV never ends. What lettters were never Questioned? PAULS!! He in effect is WARNING JAMES when Paul lifts his letters up ! He knew James was NOT ON BOARD with Sola Fide!!

The biggest misconception about the Bible is that a god had anything to do with it.

C,mo=n YOU IGNORE THE LETTERS THAT EARLIEST CHRISTIANS DID NOT RECEIVE IN ALL INSTANCES!! INcluding Revelation and Hebrews. Your logic is flawed. UNless it is accepted as Scripture very early , what about some megalomaniac stating he is an Apostle , hung with the Apostles , BUT IS NOT INSPIRED !! Now Paul's letters it seems were always accepted- Yet he doubted the True Apostleship of some in Galatians, for those that rejected "his Gospel.": But Paul , Peter,, were known for Miraculous powers a test you ignore.. NOT EVERYONE THAT CLAIMED TO BE AN APOSTLE WAS ONE!! The same way Judas was a Disciple, had all the priveleges of a disciple, but was NOT ELECT!! Why does everyone test God by thinking- It is impossible for an Apostle Not to be born again--Which happens when?? WHEN A PERSON IN EFFECT BELIEVES PAUL's Gospel which was Jesus' Gospel with hints how to understand that Christ's hard teachings of Law Doing WAS NOT FOR OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS but to Drive us in despair to Christ the Physician and BELIEVE ONLY!! Works NOT accepted as God will share His glory with NO MAN!! JAMES eg DID NOT SEEM TO BELIEVE PAUL'S GOSPEL!! His Gospel is the foundation og=f Billions being lost in the Roman and Orthodox FALSE GOSPELS

You promoting hogwash ...this is no scripture....u hv no proof