“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:16-17 KJV).
Much like the books of the Old Testament, there are good reasons to believe in the reliability of the New Testament Scriptures. Our starting point for that position begins with the events that took place in Acts chapter two and the birth of the church.
Following His death and resurrection, Jesus’ teachings were first communicated to others through word of mouth. For example, the Apostle Paul spoke to large groups of individuals during his missionary journeys while the other apostles verbally presented the Gospel throughout their travels. But as the years went on and the church began to grow, the need to secure a written account of these teachings (along with an accurate record of Jesus’ life and ministry) grew as well.
Several of Jesus’ apostles and their close associates filled this need by writing letters to individual churches under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Some of those letters (like James and Galatians) were intended for general circulation among many churches while others were targeted to the needs of a specific audience (see Luke 1:1-5). These works were later copied and distributed among these first-century congregations.
This helped provide the members of the early Christian community with access to a genuine account of Jesus’ life along with these teachings from His apostles. In fact, the practice of copying and circulating these documents may have started at the church in the town of Thessalonica around the middle of the first century.
You see, the Thessalonian church already had two pieces of correspondence from the Apostle Paul. We know these letters today as the Biblical books of 1 and 2 Thessalonians. Since the ancient town of Philippi was located relatively close to the city of Thessalonica, it would have been easy for someone from the Thessalonian church to pick up a copy of Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi (the letter we know today as the book of Philippians) and give the Philippians copies of the letters they already had.
It’s interesting to note that Paul suggested this sort of arrangement when he wrote the following message to the church that met in the town of Colossae…
“After this letter has been read to you, see that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea” (Colossians 4:16).