The Bible in the Early Church

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D.C. · Jan 6, 1916

The Bible in the Early Church

CHRISTIANS in this world of sin are like divers on a wrecked vessel down beneath the waves. We can live and continue our work only as we have unbroken communion with heaven and breathe heaven’s air. And prayer alone is not sufficient. We must hear God speaking to us; we must be guided by his counsel, else we do not even know how to pray as we ought. We must feed on “the sincere milk of the word.”

Recent investigations have brought to us a new conception of the importance and wide distribution of the Bible in the early church, so near to the time when the New Testament was written, and when the multiplication of books was so difficult. We are told that “all members of the church were anxiously urged to make themselves as familiar with the Bible as possible. They were supposed to have copies of their own, and to read them privately as well as in the congregation.”—“The Influence of the Bible on Civilization,” by Dobschütz, page 10.

“Stay at home and read in the law and in the book of the Kings and in the prophets and in the gospel (which is) the fullness of these things. Keep far away from all the books of the heathen; for what hast thou to do with foreign words or with false laws or prophecies which also easily cause young people to wander from the faith? What, then, is wanting to thee in the Word of God, that thou throwest thyself upon these myths of the heathen? If thou wishest to read the tales of the fathers, thou hast the book of the Kings; or of wise men and philosophers, thou hast the prophets, amongst whom thou wilt find more wisdom and science than among the wise men and the philosophers, because they are the words of God, of the one only wise God. If thou desirest song, thou hast the psalms of David; or if the beginning of the world, thou hast the Genesis of great Moses; if law and commandments, thou hast the book of Exodus of the Lord our God. Therefore keep entirely away from all these foreign things, which are contrary to them.”—Id., pages 11, 12.

If this admonition was needed then, it certainly is needed now, when the world is literally flooded with literature of all kinds; and when every invention of literary genius, every device of the printer’s art, and every artifice of the professional advertiser is used to attract attention to the literature that is being produced. Amid the multitude of voices thundering from the mammoth printing presses of our time, we are likely to neglect the one Book which is “the fountain light of all our day, the master light of all our seeing.”

The Bible was not easy to obtain in the days of the early church. True, there were publishers of books in those days who used slaves that were trained as copyists; but it is doubtful if a regular publisher would take up the sacred literature of the despised, persecuted Christian sect. The complete Old and New Testaments were comprised in no less than two dozen rolls, and were of course very expensive.

“We are told that wealthy Christians helped their brethren by procuring copies for them. Origen, the greatest Bible scholar of the ancient church, is said to have been supported by a rich admirer, who put at his disposal a number of slave copyists. A later admirer of Origen, Pamphilus, is said always to have carried with him several rolls in order to provide poor brethren.”

“We have thrilling accounts of Christians trying to conceal their treasured Bible rolls from the eyes of the inquiring officials. They took them from the church into their private homes, securing the Bible in safety, but many a time bringing persecution upon themselves. To the officials they surrendered books of various kinds in order to escape from surrendering the Scriptures. Asked if they had sacred books in their houses, many of them would answer, ‘Yes, in our hearts.’”—Id., pages 15, 24, 25.

If the early church appreciated the revelation of God so much, what shall we say of the remnant church which is expecting the more abundant outpouring of his Spirit? Let us study the Bible as never before, not only by topics and by piecemeal, but as a whole. Why should not every Seventh-day Adventist join our Bible Year circle, and read the Bible through during 1916? Think it over. Pray about it. If you believe that the Lord would have you do it, fill out and send to your conference Missionary Volunteer secretary the following:—

A BIBLE YEAR

Please enroll my name as a member of the Bible Year Course. I will make an earnest endeavor to systematically read the Bible through during 1916.

Name........................................... Address....................................... Date....................... M. E. KERN.