Westminster Project 1.2 - 1.3
2. Under the name of holy Scripture, or the Word of God written, are now contained all the books of the Old and New Testament, which are these:
Of the Old Testament Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, I Samuel, II Samuel, I Kings, II Kings, I Chronicles, II Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, The Song of Songs, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi
Of the New Testament The Gospels according to Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, The Acts of the Apostles, Paul’s Epistles to the Romans, Corinthians I, Corinthians II, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Thessalonians I, Thessalonians II, Timothy I, Timothy II, Titus, Philemon The Epistle to the Hebrews, The Epistle of James, The First and Second Epistles of Peter The First, Second, and Third Epistles of John, The Epistle of Jude and The Revelation
All which are given by inspiration of God, to be the rule of faith and life.
3. The books commonly called Apocrypha, not being of divine inspiration, are not part of the canon of the Scripture, and therefore have no authority in the Church of God, nor are they to be approved in any way, or made use of, more than any other human writings.
(WCF 1.2-3)
In section 1.1, the confession affirms that God has indeed revealed enough of Himself in creation to be known (what we call general revelation). However, salvation comes only through His Word (what we call special revelation). Therefore, the confession now turns to what the Church has received as “breathed out by God” (Scripture), in contrast to what was “exhaled by man” (the Apocrypha).
We should fully expect that God would speak to us—mainly because He said He has (2 Tim. 3:16–17; cf. 1 Pet. 1:10–11, 2 Pet. 1:20–21). The people of God have understood and received what was given by God (Rom. 3:2; 2 Pet. 3:15b–16), and this has formed our canon (a word meaning “rule” or “standard”) by which we measure orthodoxy. The Hebrews had a canon, which Jesus referred to as “the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms” when He explained to His disciples that God had long testified to His coming, death, and resurrection (Luke 24:44; cf. Matt. 5:17).
So, what books was Jesus referencing? The collection received and preserved by the Church under age (Israel) is recorded by the Jewish historian Josephus, who was an eyewitness to the Second Temple archives. He testified that the Jewish canon consisted of the very books that now make up our Old Testament (Antiquities, Against Apion 1.8).
This is one of the reasons why the Reformers rejected certain other books that had crept into the Church’s usage. These "other books" were written after the Jews believed God had “gone silent” (following the prophet Malachi). Moreover, they contained contradictions and historical errors that clearly marked them as human in origin. Because of this—and for other reasons—these books were eventually placed in a separate section at the back of many Bibles. The term Apocryphaitself means “hidden,” and these books were retained for their historical and inspirational value. They provide valuable insight into what occurred between the Testaments and how the faithful sought to interpret their Scriptures without the full light of Christ (Matt. 5:17; 1 Cor. 13:11; 2 Cor. 1:20).
There is an important distinction between what is inspired and what is merely inspiring. Sections 1.2–1.3 of the confession aim to make this clear—and rightly so—since it is a matter of what binds our conscience versus what simply stimulates it (WCF 1.3). By all means, read these interesting works of antiquity, but read them for what they are: insightful accounts of Israel’s struggles and hopes, rich in historical value and spiritual reflection. They are a great encouragement to thank God that Jesus has made sense of it all.