Articles, Bible Questions and Discipleship Guides

Robert from Florida asked: “How were the New Testament letters delivered to various churches?

Robert, 

In many cases, we simply can’t know how the New Testament books and letters were transported and delivered. 

We do know that Luke wrote Luke and Acts, and they were reports written for and delivered to Theopolis. But we don’t know what Theopolis did with them or how he shared them. 

2 Timothy 4:12 seems to indicate that a man named Tychicus carried that letter, and he probably delivered Colossians and Ephesians on that same journey from Rome. 

Many scholars believe that because Phoebe is commended in Romans 16:1, she might have carried and delivered the book of Romans. It was common in those days to commend the person who carried a letter in the letter itself.

Every book and letter in the New Testament would have been carried and delivered by a person or a group of people. The letters would have been read in the assembly by an elder. They would make copies, and circulate them to other churches until they had spread widely. God preserved all of it, and we now have the ability to read God’s Word for ourselves. 

Thanks for your question,

Stephen