The development of the New Testament canon began with the writings of the Apostles (New Testament authors). They were given the ability from the Holy Spirit to recall and interpret accurately the words of Jesus Christ. This was the fulfillment of the promise by Christ which is noted in John 14:26.

John 14:26; “But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—He will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.”

The New Testament authors had similar authority like the Old Testament authors. Disobeying the writings of the New Testament authors will be disobeying God himself. This is revealed in 2 Pet 3:2 and Acts 5:2-4. The New Testament authors especially Paul, claimed to speak words that were the Words of God Himself. This is noted in 1 Cor 2:9; 2:13, 1 Cor 14:37,  2 Cor 13:3,  Rom 2:16,  Gal 1: 8-9, 1 Thess 2:13; 4:8; 4;15, 5:27; 2 Thess 3:6; 14.

1 Corinthians 2:9 “That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.'”

1 Corinthians 2:13 “When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths.”

1 Corinthians 14:37 “If you claim to be a prophet or think you are spiritual, you should recognize that what I am saying is a command from the Lord himself.”

2 Corinthians 13:3 “I will give you all the proof you want that Christ speaks through me. Christ is not weak when he deals with you; he is powerful among you.”

Romans 2:16 “And this is the message I proclaim—that the day is coming when God, through Christ Jesus, will judge everyone’s secret life.”

Galatians 1:8–9 “Let God’s curse fall on anyone, including us or even an angel from heaven, who preaches a different kind of Good News than the one we preached to you. I say again what we have said before: If anyone preaches any other Good News than the one you welcomed, let that person be cursed.”

1 Thessalonians 2:13 “Therefore, we never stop thanking God that when you received his message from us, you didn’t think of our words as mere human ideas. You accepted what we said as the very word of God—which, of course, it is. And this word continues to work in you who believe.”

1 Thessalonians 4:8 “Therefore, anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human teaching but is rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.”

1 Thessalonians 4:15 “We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died.”

1 Thessalonians 5:27 “I command you in the name of the Lord to read this letter to all the brothers and sisters.”

2 Thessalonians 3:6 “And now, dear brothers and sisters, we give you this command in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: Stay away from all believers who live idle lives and don’t follow the tradition they received from us.”

The Apostles then have the authority to write words that are God’s own Words, equal in truth and authority to the words of the Old Testament.

In the New Testament canon, most of the authors affirmed the writings of other authors as God’s Word. For instance, in 2 Pet 3:16, Peter classifies all of Paul’s writings with the Old Testament canon. Peter considered Paul writings to be worthy of the title “Scripture” and therefore worthy to be included in the canon. In 1 Tim 5:17-18; Paul quotes both the Old Testament (Deuteronomy) and the New Testament (Luke) and referred to them as scripture. Again, we see the author of the epistles affirming that these books are indeed worthy to be included in the canon. Because the apostles by virtue of the apostolic office, had authority to write words of scripture, the authentic writings of the apostles were accepted by the early church as part of scripture. Most of the books of the New Testament canon were written directly by the apostles. The exceptions are Mark, Luke, Acts, Hebrews and Jude which were not written directly by the apostles. Most of these books were acknowledged very early because of close association of these authors with the apostles. For instance, Mark was closely associated with apostle Peter, Luke with apostle Paul. Jude was accepted by virtue of his close association with Jesus Christ, and the fact that he was a brother of Christ.

In A.D 367 the 39 Paschal letter of Athanasius contained an exact number of the 27 New Testament books we have today. This was the list of books accepted by the churches in the eastern part of the mediterranean world. Thirty years later in A.D 397, the Council of Carthage, representing the churches in the western part of the Mediterranean world, agreed with the eastern churches on the same list.

Who wrote the Gospels?

The four canonical Gospels; Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are traditionally attributed to the men whose names they bear, but the texts themselves do not explicitly name their author. The probable question which arises from this is why were these anonymous texts attributed to these men? To answer this question, we must first know the identity of these men.

Matthew

A tax collector who became a disciple of Christ and one of the twelve apostles. His Gospel emphasizes Jesus as the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy.

Mark

Originally not one of the twelve apostles, however, was a companion of Peter. Early church tradition (Papias, c. 120 AD) says Mark wrote down Peter’s eyewitness accounts. (The reason why Mark was accepted by the Church)

Luke

A physician and companion of Paul who wrote the gospel and Acts.

 John

Traditionally identified as “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” One of the twelve Apostles. Early Christian tradition strongly linked each Gospel to a specific figure, and that’s how the names we know today became attached to them. Writers like Papias, Irenaeus, and Origen (2nd–3rd centuries) explicitly named these authors. Internal clues also reveal that the named authors were the writers of the texts

Internal clues

Gospel according to Matthew

The Gospel of Mathhew reveals the frequent use of financial terms and references to money (fits a tax collector’s background). In Matthew 9:9, the tax collector is named “Matthew,” whereas Mark and Luke call him “Levi.

Gospel according to Mark

Early church fathers (Papias, Irenaeus, Clement, Origen, Jerome) unanimously said Mark wrote down Peter’s eyewitness testimony. Mark’s Gospel is vivid but less polished, consistent with oral recollections.

Gospel according to Luke

Preface (Luke 1:1–4) explicitly says the author investigated eyewitness accounts. Medical terminology appears throughout (e.g., precise descriptions of illnesses). The Gospel of Luke and Acts share style, theology, and are addressed to the same person (Theophilus).

Gospel according to John

The Gospel contains incidental details (number of jars, names, exact counts) suggesting eyewitness memory. It showcases strong knowledge of Jewish customs and festivals. The author identifies himself indirectly in John 21:24.

Each Gospel’s themes and literary style align with the traditional author’s background. This is one of the reasons why early church tradition confidently attached these names to the texts, even though the Gospels themselves are anonymous.