We have hundreds of writings from the Church Fathers who quote
from the Scriptures in their writings. From these writings of the first and second century, it is possible to reconstruct the complete New Testament simply from the quotations of the writings of hte Church Fathers. This verifies that the New Testament was completed during the first century. (The Council of Nicea did not deal with the Canon of Scripture. It dealth mostly with the Arian heresy)
Let me illustrate my point by simply quoting from one of the first century works of Polycarp. Polycarp a disciple of St. John the Apostle who was a friend of Jesus. You cannot get better historical sources.
INTRODUCTORY NOTE TO THE EPISTLE OF POLYCARP TO THE
PHILIPPIANS.
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[a.d. 65-150.] The Epistle of Polycarp is usually made a sort of preface to those of
Ignatius, for
reasons which will be obvious to the reader. Yet he was born later, and lived to a much
later period.
They seem to have been friends from the days of their common pupilage under St. John;
and there is
nothing improbable in the conjecture of Usher, that he was the "angel of the church in
Smyrna," to
whom the Master says, "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life."
His pupil
Irenaeus gives us one of the very few portraits of an apostolic man which are to be
found in antiquity,
in a few sentences which are a picture: "
Now, let's quote from his writings where this disciple of John quotes from many
books of the New Testament that Bernard says was supposedly fabricated by
Rome in the fourth century.
I will quote only two paragraphs from the original work to illustrates the extent
of the quotes from the New Testament. These quotes verify beyond a shadow of
a doubt that the New Testament Scriptures are authentic and were written
during the middle and last half of the first century.
The Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians1
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Polycarp, and the presbyters2 with him, to the Church of God sojourning at
Philippi: Mercy to
you, and peace from God Almighty, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, our
Saviour, be
multiplied.
Chapter I.-Praise of the Philippians.
I have greatly rejoiced with you in our Lord Jesus Christ, because ye have
followed the example3 of
true love [as displayed by God], and have accompanied, as became you, those
who were bound in
chains, the fitting ornaments of saints, and which are indeed the diadems of the
true elect of God and
our Lord; and because the strong root of your faith, spoken of in days4 long
gone by, endureth even
until now, and bringeth forth fruit to our Lord Jesus Christ, who for our sins
suffered even unto death,
[but] "whom God raised froth the dead, having loosed the bands of the grave."5
"In whom, though
now ye see Him not, ye believe, and believing, rejoice with joy unspeakable and
full of glory; "6 into
which joy many desire to enter, knowing that "by grace ye are saved, not of
works,"7 but by the will
of God through Jesus Christ.
Chapter II.-An Exhortation to Virtue.
"Wherefore, girding up your loins,"8 "serve the Lord in fear"9 and truth, as
those who have forsaken
the vain, empty talk and error of the multitude, and "believed in Him who
raised up our Lord Jesus
Christ from the dead, and gave Him glory,"10 and a throne at His right hand.
To Him all things11 in
heaven and on earth are subject. Him every spirit serves. He comes as the
Judge of the living and the
dead.12 His blood will God require of those who do not believe in Him.13 But
He who raised Him up
from the dead will raise14 up us also, if we do His will, and walk in His
commandments, and love
what He loved, keeping ourselves from all unrighteousness, covetousness, love
of money, evil
speaking, false witness; "not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing,"15 or
blow for blow, or
cursing for cursing, but being mindful of what the Lord said in His teaching:
"Judge not, that ye be not
judged;16 forgive, and it shall be forgiven unto you;17 be merciful, that ye may
obtain mercy;18 with
what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again;19 and once more,
"Blessed are the poor,
and those that are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom
of God."20
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Now I will give you the citations from the New Testaments from which Polycarp
took the quotations.
1 The title of this Epistle in most of the mss. is, "The Epistle of St. Polycarp,
Bishop of Smyrna, and
holy martyr, to the Philippians."
2 Or, "Polycarp, and those who with him are presbyters. "
3 Literally, "ye have received the patterns of true love."
4 Phil. i. 5.
5 Acts ii. 24. Literally, "having loosed the pains of Hades."
6 1 Pet. i. 8.
7 Eph. ii 8, 9.
8 Comp. 1 Pet. i. 13; Eph. vi. 14.
9 Ps. ii. 11.
10 1 Pet. i. 21.
11 Comp. 1 Pet. iii. 22; Phil. ii. 10.
12 Comp. Acts xvii. 31.
13 Or, "who do not obey him."
14 Comp 1 Cor. vi. 14; 2 Cor. iv. 14; Rom. viii. 11.
15 1 Pet. iii. 9.
16 Matt. vii. 1.
17 Matt. vi. 12, 14; Luke vi. 37.
18 Luke vi. 36.
19 Matt. vii. 2; Luke vi. 38.
20 Matt. v. 3, 10; Luke vi. 20.
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