WHEN DID THE CHURCH CANONIZE THE NEW TESTAMENT?

Did the canonization of the New Testament have to wait until the 4^th century when the 27 books of the New Testament were approved by a church council? According to Norman L. Geisler and William E. Nix, the canonization process started immediately. One indication of this are the authoritative citations from these 27 books by the Church Fathers:

·       By the end of the first century some fourteen books of the New Testament were cited. By A.D. 110 there were nineteen books recognized by citation. And within another forty years (A.D. 150) some twenty-four New Testament books were acknowledged. Before the century ended, which is about one hundred years after the New Testament was written, twenty-six books were cited.

·       Not only did the early Fathers cite all twenty-seven books of the New Testament, they also quoted virtually all of the verses in all of these twenty-seven books. (From God to us: How we Got our Bible, 157)

Other indications of an early canonization process were the early lists and manuscripts containing the approved New Testament books.