How Paul Wrote Romans and Another Person Claimed He Did
‘I Tertius … wrote this epistle’
Last month, September, I compelled myself to read the book of Romans, apostle Paul’s longest epistle and magnum opus. It was arguably the best book of the Bible I ever read. I came off it with a considerably enlightened understanding of what Christ did for humankind via His death on the Cross and consequent resurrection. And this understanding I gained, as I proceeded in my daily study, kept me urging the brothers in the house I was staying to study Romans. But then, a day came in which, as I skimmed over the final verses of the last chapter, my eyes fell on a pronouncement that got me wondering whether or not Paul was the actual writer of Romans. It said:
‘I Tertius, who wrote this epistle, salute you in the Lord.’
I read that verse in a mix of surprise, confusion and shock. For a long moment I mulled over this obvious contradiction. The Introduction to Romans printed in my Preacher’s Bible claimed that Paul wrote the epistle. And, from the first verse of Romans, one could almost hear Paul’s familiar voice as words poured out (of his mouth and onto the pages of the Scripture) in first person pronoun ‘I’. So I was left pondering: Paul I knew, but who was this Tertius?
Tertius, I would later find out, was an editor employed to write Romans as Paul dictated the words. People like Tertius, in those days, were called amanuenses or scribes (γραφέας in Greek). Amanuenses could be likened to modern day copy editors. They were employed for two major reasons: (i) they were good editors; and (ii) their handwritings were small and legible, which reduced the cost of having to purchase several rolls of expensive parchments—animal skins flattened out to the thickness of some modern papers.
Now, we should understand something crucial about amanuenses. In the case of people like Tertius, amanuenses had no right to infringe the content of an epistle. They could make grammatical corrections and help in arranging a letter, but they cannot add anything of theirs such as content, perception, interpretation, idea or name. They wrote only what they were told; they wrote another person’s words. Of the four amanuenses that Paul employed in writing some of his epistles (I Corinthians, Galatians, Colossians, II Thessalonians), only Tertius was permitted to include his name. Why? Probably because he was a disciple of Christ.
In modern times, amanuenses of Christian writing, like Tertius, could be likened to copy editors. Using epistles such as Romans as a yardstick for their writing prowess, one would see that amanuenses are far behind and grossly incapable. They are people who write books today but lack the spiritual insight needed in writing something as noteworthy as Romans. They are mental writers: they write from their heads, from their knowledge of grammar, literature and theology. They write out of intuition, not out of revelation. To them is not the gift of revelation given.
Amanuenses are ardent readers. They read almost everything that comes their way. They memorise long passages and are capable of quoting from head. They glory in their ability to retain what they’ve read, in their ability to be theologically sound and correct. They are people who find it difficult to read spiritual books. Any book that focuses on spiritual living is useless to them. Yes, they could spend their time reading and deciphering philosophy, a soulical exercise. But to withdraw into the spiritual, a world wherein they have to wait before a God Who speaks only when He wants to, is difficult for them to do.
Any book that is not theologically and grammatically sound is not on the reading list of amanuenses. They look down on books whose vocabulary and sentence structures are ‘too’ simple. They are after eloquent, scholarly and high-sounding writing. When they enter a bookstore, they go for books published by big names, books with flashy, embossed covers and prim designs. Any book that is not fat-spine and does not have a blurb or commentary from another big name/writer does not worth their time. Needless to say, amanuenses characteristically wear glasses. They could otherwise be called intellectuals, or nerds.
Yes, they could possess some knowledge of the Scripture, and might be capable of expounding Biblical matters in their writings. They could write Bible Study outlines, articles of faith, and Christian books (mostly monographs and commentaries). In fact they could write popular Christian books and bestsellers by virtue of their gifts, talents and writing prowess. They could, like most Nobel laureates, make a household name of themselves. But the major characteristic of their writing is lack of life. Their writings lack life. You cannot return to them again and again and always come off with fresh encounters. God cannot speak to your spirit or grant you deliverance through their writings. No matter how good, well-crafted and grammatically sound whatever they write are, no matter how entertaining their writings are, they fail to transform lives. Their writings are not, for the most part, inspired and effected by God. They may get published by the biggest publishers in town, yes. But since they’re not written, proofread, edited and sealed (published) by the Holy Spirit of promise, they are just mere books and will always be.
One blogger noted that, when Paul dictated the book of Romans to Tertius (c. 7,000+ words), Tertius was bound to make a few scribal errors even though he was a professional scribe because he was not inspired by God nor moved along by the Holy Spirit. So an amanuensis is an intermediary between the God-ordained, God-inspired writer and the writing page. Such a person lack a direct connection to God.
It is true that most men who turned out to become the greatest Christian writers also started this way, writing another person’s words at the start of their careers. But they did not stop there. They sought God in prayer, with tears and groanings, for the release of divine inspiration. These were men who said: ‘I will never write a single book unless it is God initiating it, unless He himself is ready to write it.’ They were not men who wrote books because a crucial social issue was ongoing and a book was needed to be written to address the matter. They did not write because they needed money, or for fame, or because they had talent, or because, as pastors or theologians or evangelists, they just had to write. They were men who waited for the voice of God to say: ‘Write the vision, make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it!’
Besides being recognized as the amanuensis of Romans, historical findings claim that Tertius was among the Seventy disciples Jesus sent out in Luke 10 to preach the gospel. He was also, at a time, Bishop of Iconium. But all we know is that his name only appears once in the Scripture, in Romans 16:22, where, under the guise of greeting the disciples at Rome, he boldly asserts himself to be the writer of the voluminous and deeply spiritual Epistle to the Romans.
‘I Tertius … edited this epistle,’ he supposed to have written to us. ♦
