WCF 1.3

Westminster Confession of Faith

1.3. Of the Holy Scripture

The books commonly called Apocrypha, not being of divine inspiration, are no part of the canon of the Scripture; and therefore are of no authority in the Church of God, nor to be any otherwise approved, or made use of, than other human writings.

Proof texts

Luke 24:27, 44 — [27] And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. [44] Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”
Rom. 3:2 — [2] Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God.
2 Pet. 1:21 — [21] For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

For discussion

The Assembly cited Luke 24:27, 44 in support of this answer. Read it in context — how does it bear on what is claimed here?
3 passages are cited here. Which does the most work, and is anything claimed that the proofs do not obviously carry?
WSC Q2 treats the same ground. What does it add, and why might it put things differently?
WLC Q3 treats the same ground. What does it add, and why might it put things differently?

Read alongside

WSC Q2 · WLC Q3 · WLC Q1 · WLC Q2 · WLC Q4 · WLC Q5 · WSC Q1 · WSC Q3 · BC 1.1 · BC 1.2 · HC Q1 · HC Q2 · BC 1.3 · BC 1.4 · BC 1.5 · BC 1.6 · BC 1.7 · 1689 1.1 · SD 1.1 · IAR 1.1 · SC60 6.4 · SHC 1.1 · SHC 1.2

Leader's notes

A Commentary on the Confession of Faith (A.A. Hodge): this section teaches — 3d. That all the canonical Scriptures were divinely inspired, and are thus given us as an authoritative rvle of faith and practice. The books of Scripture were written by the instrumentality of men, and the national and personal peculiarities of their authors have been evidently as freely expressed in their writing, and their natural faculti(«i, intellectual and moral, as freely exercised in their production, as those of the authors of any other writings. Nevertheless, these books are, one and all, in thought and verbal expression, in substance and form, wholly the Word of God, conveying, with absolute accuracy and divine authority, all that God meant them to convey, without any human additions or admixtures. This was…

An Exposition of the Confession of Faith (Robert Shaw): These sections relate to the true canon, and the divine inspiration of the Holy Scriptures. In opposition to the Romish Church, which reckons the apocryphal books of equal authority with the Scriptures, it is asserted that these books are no part of the canon of the Scripture ; and in opposition to the Deists, who deny that the Scriptures of the Old and New 8 CONFESSION OP FAITH. QciIAP, I. Testaments are the Word of God, it is affirmed that all the sacred books are given by inspiration of God. The term Scriptures signifies writings in general, but is appropriated to the Word of God, which is also, by way of eminency, called the Bible, or 600^, because it is…