How Can We Know That the Bible We Have Is the Bible God Gave Us?

Where did the Bible come from? Who decided which books belonged in it? And can we really trust the words we read today?

For many Christians, questions about the canon and the transmission of Scripture can feel intimidating. Yet understanding how we got the Bible can deepen our confidence in God’s Word and equip us to respond to common challenges.

In this accessible and carefully researched guide, Greg Lanier explores the origins and transmission of both the Old and New Testaments, explaining:

• What Scripture is and what it means for the Bible to be inspired and divinely authoritative.
• Which books belong in the Bible and how God’s people came to recognize them as Scripture.
• How the biblical text was transmitted, including the complex process of copying manuscripts before the age of printing.
• Why textual variants do not undermine Scripture’s reliability.
• What to make of the Apocrypha and other writings that have sometimes been regarded as Scripture.
• How Jesus, the apostles, and the early church received the Old Testament and recognized the emerging New Testament.

Written for ordinary Christians without sacrificing academic rigour, this pocket guide provides a clear, theologically grounded introduction to one of the most important questions facing the church: Can we trust the Bible as the Word of God?