Although formal decrees of Scripture’s inspiration and inerrancy would come much later, even the very earliest Christian writers had no doubt about the divine origin of the holy writings.
(The most formalized decree was issued by the Council of Trent, which met at intervals between 1545-1563, but complete listings of the canon and insistence on Scripture’s authority appeared as early as 393 and 397 at the councils of Carthage and Hippo.)
The first Christians were way ahead of most modern folks, and we can take a cue from their devotion to reading Scripture. A prayerful reading of it will help our apologetics.
Clement of Rome
“Brethren, be contentious and zealous for the things which lead to salvation! You have studied the Holy Scriptures, which are true and of the Holy Spirit. You well know that nothing unjust or fraudulent is written in them….You are versed and, indeed, you are well-versed, beloved, in the Sacred Scriptures; you have studied the oracles of God” (Epistle to the Corinthians 45:1, 53:1 [ca. AD. 80]).
Justin Martyr
“When you hear the words of the prophets, spoken as it were personally, do not imagine that they are spoken by the inspired persons themselves. It is the Divine Word who moves them….The Holy Prophetic Spirit taught us this when he informed us through Moses that God spoke as follows to the first created man: ‘Behold, before your face, the good and the evil. Choose the good’ ” [Deut. 30:15, 19] (First Apology 36, 43 [inter AD. 148-155]).
Justin Martyr
“Why should we believe a crucified man, that he is the firstborn of the unbegotten God, and that he will pass judgment on the whole human race, if we had not found testimonies published about him [in Scripture] before he came and was made man, and if we had not seen these predictions fulfilled?…These words [of the prophets], then, have become the proof that Jesus Christ is the Son and Apostle of God, being of old the Word…” (Ibid. 53, 61).
Athenagoras
“As witnesses of the things we have come to know and believe, we have the prophets, who made pronouncements about God and about the things of God, under the influence of the Spirit of Inspiration. You too will perhaps admit, surpassing others as you do in perception and reverence for the real Deity, that it it would be irrational to cease believing in the Spirit from God, who moved the mouths of the prophets like musical instruments, and to attend to human opinions” (Supplication for the Christians 7 [ca. AD. 177]).
Theophilus
“At the same time I came upon the Sacred Scriptures of the holy prophets, who recited through the Spirit of God the things which have happened in the manner in which they happened, and the present events as they are happening, and the future events in the very order in which they will be accomplished. I acknowledge, therefore, the proof afforded by things happening as they have been predicted, and I do not disbelieve, but, obedient to God, I believe” (To Autolycus 1:14 [circa AD. 181]).
Theophilus
“In regard to the righteousness which the Law enjoined, the prophets and the Gospels are found to be consistent with each other, because they all spoke as being inspired by the one Spirit of God” (Ibid. 3:12 [AD. 181]).
Irenaeus
“If, however, we are not able to find explanations for all those passages of Scripture which are investigated, we ought not on that account seek for another God besides him who exists.This would indeed be the greatest impiety. Things of that kind we must leave to God, the one who made us, knowing full well that the Scriptures are certainly perfect, since they were spoken by the Word of God and by his Spirit” (Against Heresies 2:28:2 [Inter AD. 180- 199]).
Clement of Alexandria
“I could adduce for you a myriad of Scriptures, of which not one serif shall pass away [c.t. John 6:55] without being fulfilled; for the mouth of the Lord, the Holy Spirit, has spoken these things” (Exhortation to the Greeks 9:82:1 [ante AD. 200]).
Hippolytus
“All of these prophets were under the influence of the Holy Spirit. .. Like musical instruments, they had the Word ever in themselves, as if he were a plectrum, and, when moved by him, they announced what God willed. Not by their own power did the prophets speak -let there be no mistake about that – nor did they make their announcements according to their own pleasure” (The Antichrist 2 [ca. AD. 200]).
Hippolytus
“Neither does the Scripture falsify anything, nor does the Holy Spirit deceive his servants, the prophets, through whom he is pleased to announce to men the will of God” (Commentary on Daniel 4:6 [A.D. 204]).
Origen
“It is of ecclesiastical teaching that the Scriptures were written through the Spirit of God, and that they have not only that meaning which is quite apparent, but also another which escapes most. For the words which are written are the forms of certain mysteries, and the images of divine things. In this matter the opinion of the whole Church is one: That the whole Law is indeed spiritual; the spiritual meaning which the Law conveys, however, is not known to all, but only to those on whom the grace of the Holy Spirit is bestowed in the word of wisdom and knowledge” (The Fundamental Doctrines, 1, preface 8 [inter A.D. 220-230]).
Origen
“With complete and utter precision the Holy Spirit supplied the very [words of Scripture] through his subordinate authors, so that you might ever bear in mind the weighty circumstances of their writing, according to which the wisdom of God pervades every divinely inspired writing, reaching out to each single letter. Perhaps it was on account of this that the Savior said, ‘Not one iota or even a serif thereof shall be lost from the Law until all is accomplished'” (Commentaries on the Psalms Ps. 1:4 [ante A.D. 244]).
Cyprian
“We think that no one should be held back from the fruit of satisfaction and from the hope of peace, since we know by our faith in the divine Scriptures, of which God himself is the author and initiator, both that sinners are brought back to repentance, and that pardon and forgiveness of sins are not denied the penitent” (Epistle to Antonianus, Bishop of Numidia 55 (52):27 [A.D. 251-252]).
Gregory of Nyssa
“Divinely inspired Scripture, as the Divine Apostle calls it, is the Holy Spirit’s writing. Its purpose is usefulness to men. ‘All Scripture,’ he says, ‘is inspired of God and useful [2 Tim. 3:16].'” (Against Eunomius book 3 [inter A.D. 380-384]).
Ambrose
“How could it be that [the Holy Spirit] would not have all that pertains to God, seeing that he is named along with the Father and the Son when the priests baptize, . . . is poured out upon the just, and is given as the source of inspiration in the prophets? So too all divine Scripture is called theopneustos because of the fact that God inspires what the Spirit has spoken” (On the Holy Spirit 3:6:112 [A.D. 381]).
Augustine
“When from the same words of Scripture not just one but two or more interpretations are possible, even if the meaning intended by him who wrote it is unknown, there is no danger, so long as one of them can be shown from the other passages of Holy Scripture to be in accord with the truth. But one who searches the divine sayings should strive to arrive at the meaning intended by the author through whom the Holy Spirit brought that Scripture into being” (Christian Instruction 3:27:38 [A.D. 397]).
Theodore
“Some say that not all the Psalms are by David, but that some are by others . . . About this I make no very strong affirmation. What difference does it make to me whether all of them or some of them [were written by David], when it is clear in any case that all are written under the operation of the Divine Spirit?” (Interpretation of the Psalms preface [inter A.D. 441-449]).