Originally Posted by Jerusalem Blade

Andrew,

I’m sorry if I have caused some confusion due to the disorganization of all that info in my post!

The texts “providentially preserved” have indeed been in the church for longer than the Reformation! They were in the church from the beginning, being the apostles’ (and those whose writings they approved – Mark’s and Luke’s) original writings. We have the text – but not the original mss – these centuries later. We base our view on the promises of the Lord that He would preserve His word, even though heaven and earth should pass away. Telling us that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God, it follows that He would guard and keep for us that by which we must live!

The reconstruction of the path by which the true NT text (the OT has a different history) existed up through the ages, and how God brought even those few readings which had dropped from the Scriptures of the Greek Church back into the text at the time of the Reformation, comprises the labors for which Dr. Edward Hills devoted his life. This can be seen in his book, The King James Version Defended, http://www.jesus-is-lord.com/kjvdefen.htm, a quote from which follows:

Thus as a result of this special providential guidance the True Text won out in the end, and today we may be sure that the text found in the vast majority of the Greek New Testament manuscripts is a trustworthy reproduction of the divinely inspired Original Text. This is the text which was preserved by the God-guided usage of the Greek Church. Critics have called it the Byzantine text, thereby acknowledging that it was the text in use in the Greek Church during the greater part of the Byzantine period (452-1453). It is much better, however, to call this text the Traditional Text. When we call the text found in the majority of the Greek New Testament manuscripts the Traditional Text, we signify that this is the text which has been handed down by the God-guided tradition of the Church from the time of the Apostles unto the present day.

A further step in the providential preservation of the New Testament was the printing of it in 1516 and the dissemination of it through the whole of Western Europe during the Protestant Reformation. In the first printing of the Greek New Testament we see God's preserving providence working hiddenly and, to the outward eye, accidentally. The editor, Erasmus, performed his task in great haste in order to meet the deadline set by the printer, Froben of Basle. Hence this first edition contained a number of errors of a minor sort, some of which persisted in later editions. But in all essentials the New Testament text first printed by Erasmus and later by Stephanus (1550) and Elzevir (1633) is in full agreement with the Traditional Text providentially preserved in the vast majority of the Greek New Testament manuscripts. This printed text is commonly called the Textus Receptus (Received Text). It is the text which was used by the Protestant Reformers during the Reformation and by all Protestants everywhere for three hundred years thereafter. Hence the printing of it was, after all, no accident but the work of God's special providence.

The special providence of God is particularly evident in the fact that the text of the Greek New Testament was first printed and published not in the East but in Western Europe where the influence of the Latin usage and of the Latin Vulgate was very strong. Through the influence of the Latin-speaking Church Erasmus and his successors were providentially guided to follow the Latin Vulgate here and there in those few places in which the Latin Church usage rather than the Greek Church usage had preserved the genuine reading. Hence the Textus Receptus was a further step in the providential preservation of the New Testament. In it the few errors of any consequence occurring in the Traditional Greek Text were corrected by the providence of God operating through the usage of the Latin speaking Church of Western Europe.

Thus God by His special providence has preserved the New Testament text in a three-fold way through the universal priesthood of believers. In the first place, during the fourteen centuries in which the New Testament circulated in manuscript form God worked providentially through the usage of the Greek-speaking Church to preserve the New Testament text in the majority of the Greek New Testament manuscripts. In this way the True New Testament Text became the prevailing Traditional Text. In the second place, during the 16th century when the New Testament text was being printed for the first time, God worked providentially through the usage of the Latin-speaking Church to influence Erasmus and the other editors and printers of that period to follow the Latin Vulgate in those few places in which the Latin Church usage rather than the Greek Church usage had preserved the genuine reading. Then in the third place, during the 450 years which have elapsed since the first printing of the New Testament, God has been working providentially through the usage of Bible-believing Protestants to place and keep the stamp of His approval upon this God-guided printed text. It is upon this Textus Receptus that the King James Version and the other classic Protestant translations are based. (The King James Version Defended, 1984, pp. 106, 107)

There was an extended discussion of this – under fire! – in the thread, “What is the authentic New Testament text?” [What is the authentic New Testament text?], and this same quote of Hills’ is to be found in post 21 there, although throughout the thread these issues are dealt with.

I hope I haven’t added to the confusion, but clarified things instead! Please let me know if I haven't.

Steve