I'm currently reading through an amazing book by Dr. Michael Kruger that I bought from the Shepherds' Conference. The Question of Canon is a book that pokes holes in the extrinsic model of the canon. Before I explain the models, "canon" must be defined.
Canon comes from a Greek word meaning "measuring rod", "standard", or "rule". In regards to the Bible, the term canon refers to the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments because they act as the authoritative standard (canon) for the Christian.
In his book, Kruger gives two models for the development of the New Testament canon:
- The Extrinsic Model:
“[T]he canon was, to some degree imposed upon the Christian faith.” (p. 18)
- The Intrinsic Model:
“[The canon was] not something imposed from the outside but develops more organically from within the early Christian religion itself.” (p. 21)
In raising some problems with the extrinsic model, Kruger paves way for the intrinsic model. One way in which he does that is his argument against the claim that the NT writers did not know they were writing Scripture, therefore there is no evidence of an authoritative source other than the OT until later on in history.
One of the examples given was that Peter* knows he is writing Scripture. Here's the flow of thought summarized from pages 150-151:
- Claims apostolic texts to be authoritative (2 Pt. 3:16)
- His readers should submit to apostolic authority (2 Pt. 3:2)
- Calls himself an apostle (2 Pt. 1:1)
- Recounts his own apostolic credentials (2 Pt. 1:16-18)
- Therefore his letters are authoritative
*There are scholars who do not believe in Peter's authorship of 2 Peter and a different author for 1 Peter. But as noted in the book, authorship is irrelevant here. The point is whether the writer of this epistle is aware that he is claiming apostolic authority and therefore is writing, what we call, Scripture.
