Who was Tertius in the Bible?

The Christian who wrote the Epistle to the Romans at Paul's dictation, and who sent his own salutation to the saints. Rom. 16:22.

As usual, the inspired epistle was dictated by Paul and written by “Tertius” (Lat. “the third”) (Rom. 16:22).

the epistle was dictated to Paul's amanuensis, Tertius, who now gives his personal greeting. It is evident that his inserted salutation amidst those of the apostle is not unwarranted. It shows he knew the brethren at Rome and had as real and personal an interest in them as Paul.

"I Tertius, who wrote the epistle, salute you in [the] Lord." (Ver. 22.) The epistle to the Romans was not, like that to the Galatians, written by the apostle's own hand, but dictated to an amanuensis, as indeed was the ordinary practice of Paul. (Cf. 2 Thess. 3:17.) Love however gave him who wrote it down a place for christian greeting.

"There salutes you Gaius, the host of me and the whole church. There salutes you Erastus the steward of the city, and Quartus the brother. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ [be] with you all. Amen." In Gaius we see how Christ becomes the spring of large and holy hospitality. Erastus is the witness that conscience is not forced or hurried; not only was he the steward of the city, but he is expressly so described in scripture. Such a position in heathen times especially would expose him who held it to difficulties and dangers. But christian conduct should ever flow from the intelligent sense of our relationship to God and of the claims of His truth and grace. In order to this, room must be left for growth and the exercise of right and godly feeling. Quartus has his place in scripture as "the brother," traditionally, of course, one of the seventy, as most of the unknown names here are fabled to have been, and afterwards bishop of Berytus. These salutations too the apostle seals with the same benediction and, if possible, more fervently, "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen."

This Epistle was written by Paul in the year 58. Paul was staying in the house of Gaius (Romans 16:23). He was a wealthy Corinthian whom Paul had baptized (1 Corinthians 1:14). His amanuensis was Tertius, who makes the statement himself, "I Tertius, who wrote this Epistle, salute you in the Lord" (16:22). It was during the brief visit to Corinth (Acts 20:3) when the Apostle wrote the Epistle. He was on his way to Jerusalem, with the great desire in his heart "I must also see Rome" (Acts 19:21). Of this he speaks in the Epistle. "But now having no more place in these parts, and having a great desire these many years to come unto you; whensoever I take my journey into Spain, I will come to you, for I trust to see you in my journey, and to be brought on my way thitherward by you, if first I be somewhat filled with your company. But I go unto Jerusalem to minister unto the Saints." (15:23-25). And in the beginning of the Epistle he expressed the same wish. "Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you. For I long to see you that I may impart some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established" (1:10-11).

St. Paul's Token. — That was God's promise by His servant. Now to authenticate what the apostle wrote, and to preserve the saints from being imposed upon by forged letters, as seems to have been attempted at Thessalonica, he had early in the days of his written ministry selected a token, by which his genuine writings should be known. "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you" (20). Written perhaps with his own hand, as was the case in his second letter to the Thessalonians (2 Thess. 3:17), we find this salutation, either in its longest form (2 Cor. 13:14), or in its shortest (1 Tim. 6:21), appended to all his epistles. And whilst he lived no other New Testament writer made use of it. At the end of the Revelation only, written after Paul's martyrdom, we have that which somewhat resembles it, "The grace of the Lord Jesus be with the saints (or, with all)."

Salutations from Others. — Hitherto — the token of Paul perhaps excepted — all that we have read was from Paul, dictated to his amanuensis, Tertius (22). By the list of those saluted by Paul we learn of some in Rome with whom he was evidently acquainted. From the salutations we now meet with, addressed to the Roman saints, we learn who were at this time in Paul's company. There was Timothy, his fellow-worker, also Lucius and Jason and Sosipater his kinsmen. Next comes Tertius the scribe, then Gaius, Paul's host, and the host of the whole Church; and last, Erastus, the city chamberlain, and Quartus, a brother. Whether any of these, Timothy excepted, are the same people that we meet with elsewhere it is impossible to say. There is nothing to prove they were. As regards Lucius, Jason, and Gaius, it might be difficult to prove the contrary. Enough, however, is it for us to know that Paul was not alone. Gaius entertained him, Tertius wrote for him, and Erastus, who held an honourable and responsible post in the city of Corinth, was not afraid or ashamed to be thus openly connected with Paul and his company. "These that have turned the world upside down" (Acts 17:6), was the description by the Jews and the rabble in Thessalonica of Paul and his associates. Erastus had evidently found himself completely turned round. He was converted, had repented, and openly professed himself a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Gospel is suited to all classes as well as to all nationalities.

198 We have also what shews us Paul's way of writing his epistles, save that to the Galatians; he dictated them while another wrote. Here one Tertius wrote it, and salutes with the rest. From 2 Thessalonians 3:17 we learn how they were verified, their accuracy secured. For letters which had the character of commandments of the Lord (1 Cor. 14:37) this was important. The salutation at the end came from his own hand, which verified all that was in the epistle as his, that is, as of apostolic inspired authority. We see what he thought of his own epistles; the accuracy he thought important, just because they were not his, but from the Lord. The reader may remark the three steps in the reception of divine truth in 1 Corinthians 2:12-14. The things freely given of God are known, revealed by the Spirit, then communicated by words which the Spirit taught, and then received through the grace of the Spirit. Compare, as to the two first points, 2 Peter 1:19-21. So at the end of our epistle.

We see also that the apostle did not write his letters himself, but employed a brother to do it. Here it was one named Tertius (v. 22). Deeply concerned at the condition of the Galatians, he wrote himself the letter addressed to them; but the salutation at the end of this, as of other epistles, was in his own hand in order to verify the contents of the epistle. (1 Corinthians 16:21; 2 Thessalonians 3:17, in which the feigned epistle alluded to in 2 Thessalonians 2 gave occasion to state this proof, which he always gave, that an epistle was truly his.) We see likewise, by this little circumstance, that he attached a solemn and authoritative character to his epistles, that they were not merely the effusions of a spiritual heart, but that in writing them he knew and would have others understand, that they were worthy of consideration and of being preserved as authorities, as the expression and exercise of his apostolic mission, and were to be received as such; that is to say, as possessing the Lord's authority, with which he was furnished by the power of the Holy Ghost. They were letters from the Lord by his means, even as his words had also been (1 Thess. 2: 13, and 1 Cor. 14:37).

"See with what large letters I have written to you with my own hand." We must remember that Paul was a highly educated man, both in Greek learning at Tarsus (his native place), and in Jerusalem at the feet of Gamaliel, who was one of the wisest and most famous of the Jewish Rabbis. See Acts 22:3; 5:34. But now, perhaps, the "hands" (Acts 20:34) of Paul had become more accustomed to tent-making than to handling a pen; but it seems clear from these words just quoted that the Apostle wrote the whole Epistle to the Galatians with his own hand. Probably this is the only epistle Paul wrote himself. He generally used a friend to write for him, while he dictated what he wished to say. (For example in Romans 16:22 we read: "I Tertius, who wrote this epistle, salute you in the Lord." That means that while Paul dictated, Tertius wrote down the words for him.) With regard to the Epistle to the Galatians, we can not be quite sure that Paul wrote the whole epistle, as it may mean that he only wrote the last part of the epistle, quoted above. Paul usually wrote with his own hand a few words at the end of each epistle, as a guarantee that the epistle was genuine, for evidently there were those who forged the Apostle's name, and sent out letters that pretended to be from him, but were not genuine. See 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2: "Be not soon shaken in mind … nor by word, nor by letter, as (if it were) from us."

These words we are now considering may be his usual personal ending written by his own hand in large letters; but on the other hand it seems more probable that it means that Paul wrote the whole epistle. As far as I know, it is not possible to be quite certain which is the meaning. If it means the whole letter was written by Paul, we can very well understand that in a matter that was so urgent as these Christians giving up the faith of Christ to go to the Jewish law, the Apostle may have felt that he could not have anyone come between himself and these dear wandering sheep; and so his own hand must write every word. There were two styles of writing in use at the time Paul wrote this epistle. One style used large letters each one separate from the other like printed letters; the other style was more like our hand-writing, the letters were small and joined together. Paul evidently used the large bold letters; and that style was very suitable, for the subject is of such fundamental importance, and the large bold letters suited this. May God grant that this whole epistle should be written in our hearts with such great, large, bold letters, that we may never forget or lose sight of them.

Paul had written this letter with his own hand — an unusual thing for him. He generally employed others (as Tertius for the epistle to the Romans), dictating to them that which he wished to say, adding the benediction with his own hand, as certifying the correctness of that which was written (1 Cor. 16:21; 2 Thess. 3:17): a remarkable proof of the importance that the apostle attached to his writings, and that he did not send them forth as ordinary letters from man to man, but as being furnished with an authority that required the use of such precautions. They were carefully invested with the apostolic authority. In this case, full of sorrow, and feeling that the foundations had been overthrown, he wrote the whole with his own hand. Accordingly, in saying this, he returns immediately to the subject which had caused him to do so.