Where did the Bible come from?

Sola scriptura: That the Scripture alone is the inspired and authoritative Word of God is essentially the framework of the Protestant church. It is the scripture that is the living and perfect Word of God. After all "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.
Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men...The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1 1-4, 14

It is by the authority of the scripture that, the Catholic Church was challenged during the reformation and what the other four ‘Solas’ are built upon.

It is by the Scriptures that we know:

Sola gratia: That Salvation comes by grace alone and not through any merit on the part of the sinner. Thus salvation is the unearned gift of Grace.

Sola fide: That Justification comes through faith alone, not good works. Saving faith will always be accompanied by good works, but good works are a result of Faith, just as Salvation is the result of Grace. Our good works are God’s gift to us, not our gift to God.

Solus Christus: That Christ alone is the mediator between God and man. That Jesus is the only Way to the Truth and eternal Life given by Grace.

Soli Deo gloria: That all glory is due to God alone, since salvation is accomplished solely through His works — not only the atonement on the Cross by Jesus, but even granting the faith which allows men to be saved by that atonement.

As John Wesley stated in the 18th century, "The Church is to be judged by the Scriptures, not the Scriptures by the Church."

But how do we know what the Scriptures are?

Simple, they are in the Bible.

We did not always have the Bible however, and this poses the question, "Where did the Bible come from?"

(Canon refers to the list of books considered to be scripture)

The Old Testament was less difficult to establish than the New Testament, as the Jewish people had reverently studied, copied and preserved the Law by which they believed they would receive eternal Salvation. This does not mean however that the Old Testament canon was established first. Indeed it was not until the 16th century that the Old Testament canon was finalised by Luther and the other Protestant Reformers.

There was undeniably some debate in regards to the Old Testament canon. However, by 250 A.D. there was nearly universal agreement on the canon of Hebrew Scripture. The only issue that remained was the Apocrypha. However, the vast majority of Hebrew scholars considered the Apocrypha to be good historical and religious documents, but not not the Word of God, as the Hebrew Scriptures were. The Old Testament canon (excluding the Apocrypha) was almost established in 367 AD by Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, with the exclusion of Esther and inclusion of Baruch, which is now considered part of the Apocrypha. The 46 books of the Old Testament Canon with the Deuterocanonical/Apocrypha (as defined by the Catholic Church) was set in 382 AD in the Council of Rome, affirmed in the Council of Hippo in 393 AD and reaffirmed in the third Council of Carthage in 397 AD.

This canon of Old Testament scripture (including the Apocrypha) was largely used by the church until the time of the Reformation. During the Reformation, Luther and others decided to omit the Apocrypha from scripture and use only the Hebrew canon of scriptures in stead.

The New Testament was also difficult to establish.

In the first and second centuries after Christ, many writings and letters were circulating among the Christians. Some of the churches were using books and letters in their services that were definitely suspect. Gradually the need to have a definite list of the inspired Scriptures became apparent. Heretical movements were rising, each one choosing its own selected Scriptures, including such documents as the Gospel of Thomas, the Shepherd of Hermas, the Apocalypse of Peter, and the Epistle of Barnabas to name but a few.

Very early on, some of the New Testament books were being recognized. Paul considered Luke’s writings to be as authoritative as the Old Testament (1 Timothy 5:18; Deuteronomy 25:4 and Luke 10:7). Peter recognized Paul’s writings as Scripture (2 Peter 3:15-16). Some of the books of the New Testament were being circulated among the churches (Colossians 4:16; 1 Thessalonians 5:27). Clement of Rome mentioned at least eight New Testament books in 95 AD. Ignatius of Antioch acknowledged about seven books in 115 AD. Polycarp, a disciple of John the Apostle, acknowledged 15 books in 108 AD. By 185 AD, Irenaeus mentioned 21 books. Hippolytus (170-235 AD) recognized 22 books. The New Testament books receiving the most controversy were Hebrews, James, 2 Peter, 2 John, and 3 John. The first “canon” was the Muratorian Canon, which was compiled in 170 AD. The Muratorian Canon included all of the New Testament books except Hebrews, James, and 3 John. Around 200 AD the Muratorian fragment was written, listing the accepted scriptures. This list was very similar to the modern Bible but also included the Wisdom of Solomon (now part of the Apocrypha) and the Apocalypse of Peter.

In 363 AD, the Council of Laodicea stated that only the Old Testament (along with the Apocrypha) and the 27 books of the New Testament were to be read in the churches.

The New Testament canon as it is now was first listed by Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, in 367 AD, in 39th Festal Letter written to his churches in Egypt. That canon gained wider and wider recognition until The Council of Hippo in 393 AD and it was finally accepted by all at the Third Council of Carthage in 397 AD.

Even this council did not settle the matter, however. Certain books continued to be questioned, especially James and Revelation. Even as late as the 16th century, theologian and reformer Martin Luther questioned (but in the end did not reject) the Epistle of James, the Epistle of Jude, the Epistle to the Hebrews and the Book of Revelation. Even today, German-language Luther Bibles are printed with these four books at the end of the canon, rather than their traditional order for other Christians

Most of the Councils exercised three basic tests to determine if a New Testament book or letter should be considered scriptural.
1. Who was the Author, an Apostle or close associate of an Apostle?
2. Was the book being accepted by the Body of Christ at large?
3. Is this book consistent with others already considered scripture?

It was not until 367 AD that the church father Athanasius first provided the complete listing of 66 books belonging to both the Old and New Testaments as the one biblical canon, although this canon excluded Esther and replaced it with Baruch, which is part of the Apocryphal books.

The human process of collecting the books of the Bible was lengthy and flawed, but God, in His sovereignty, despite our ignorance and stubbornness, brought the early church to the recognition of the books He had inspired. He has delivered to His Church His Word, just as He delivered His Grace though Jesus. It was not the studious care of the Church Fathers who ‘discovered the scriptures’, but rather The Spirit of God guiding them into truth which ‘revealed’ to them the Scriptures.

See also:
On The Formation of the New Testament Canon
The Canon of Scripture
What is the Canon
The Formation of the Canon of the New Testament