Topic(s): Gospel, Priorities, Patience

Bob Prichard

Because God planned the establishment of the church, He inspired the New Testament writers to write as a guide for the church. Through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, God inspired the New Testament writers to accurately record the history of the ministry of Jesus, the early years of the church, and God’s plan for redeeming man. As the apostle Peter wrote, “For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. . . .We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Peter 1:16, 19-21).

By giving the church a written guide to follow, the Lord provided protection against religious error. As the Holy Spirit revealed the books of the New Testament, they were quickly shared among the various congregations, even though modern printing methods were unavailable. Since no one had invented the printing press, it was necessary for men to make copies of the scriptures by hand. Thousands of these copies have survived to the present. It is by these New Testament manuscripts that translators have made our modern translations. A special group of people, called scribes, made their living writing out the manuscripts. Knowledge of reading and writing was by no means universal in the first centuries of the modern era. When a person needed something written, and did not know how to read and write, he would go to a scribe to have it written for him. It was also necessary for merchants to use scribes as needed.

The scribes spent much time in making copies of the scriptures. They took care to make sure that they copied the scriptures accurately. Besides copying the scriptures, they also studied the law, and thus were often called “lawyers” in the New Testament. Because their duties included studying and interpreting the scriptures, Jesus often criticized them when they rejected His teachings. They, along with the Pharisees, should have been the first to recognize the truth of the teachings of Christ.

At the close of the letter to the Colossian church, Paul wrote, “And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea” (Colossians 4:16). Thus, a scribe in Colossae would make a copy of the letter for the church in Laodicea. Paul concluded 2 Thessalonians, “The salutation of Paul with mine own hand, which is the token in every epistle: so I write” (3:17), indicating that he probably had dictated the letter to another, such as Timothy, and only personally wrote a small part. Ancient methods were slow, but Christians loved the Lord and made the effort to share His written word.