Jn 5, 39 The scriptures testify on my behalf

(Jn 5, 39) The scriptures testify on my behalf

[39] You search the scriptures, because you think you have eternal life through them; even they testify on my behalf.

(CCC 120) It was by the apostolic Tradition that the Church discerned which writings are to be included in the list of the sacred books (Cf. DV 8 § 3). This complete list is called the canon of Scripture. It includes 46 books for the Old Testament (45 if we count Jeremiah and Lamentations as one) and 27 for the New (Cf. DS 179; 1334-1336; 1501-1504) […]. (CCC 121) The Old Testament is an indispensable part of Sacred Scripture. Its books are divinely inspired and retain a permanent value (Cf. DV 14), for the Old Covenant has never been revoked. (CCC 122) Indeed, "the economy of the Old Testament was deliberately SO oriented that it should prepare for and declare in prophecy the coming of Christ, redeemer of all men” (DV 15). "Even though they contain matters imperfect and provisional (DV 15), the books of the OldTestament bear witness to the whole divine pedagogy of God's saving love: these writings "are a storehouse of sublime teaching on God and of sound wisdom on human life, as well as a wonderful treasury of prayers; in them, too, the mystery of our salvation is present in a hidden way” (DV 15). (CCC 123) Christians venerate the Old Testament as true Word of God. The Church has always vigorously opposed the idea of rejecting the Old Testament under the pretext that the New has rendered it void (Marcionism). (CCC 115) According to an ancient tradition, one can distinguish between two senses of Scripture: the literal and the spiritual, the latter being subdivided into the allegorical, moral and anagogical senses. The profound concordance of the four senses guarantees all its richness to the living reading of Scripture in the Church. (CCC 116) The literal sense is the meaning conveyed by the words of Scripture and discovered by exegesis, following the rules of sound interpretation: "All other senses of Sacred Scripture are based on the literal” (St. Thomas Aquinas, STh I, 1, 10, ad I).