Journal: Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
Volume: JETS 68:3 (Sep 2025)
Article: Providential Preservation Of Scripture And Textual Criticism In The Sermons Of Westminster Divines
Author: Zachary J. Cole

JETS 68:3 (September 2025) p. 405

Providential Preservation Of Scripture And Textual Criticism In The Sermons Of Westminster Divines

Zachary J. Cole

Zachary J. Cole is Associate Professor of New Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando, 1231 Reformation Drive, Oviedo, FL 32765. He may be contacted at [email protected].

Abstract: The men who claimed that Scripture had been “kept pure in all ages” were also regular preachers who routinely dealt with textual variations and marginal readings. By giving attention to the manner in which they addressed text-critical problems in the pulpit, we can understand more precisely what the Westminster divines believed about the manner of God’s preservation of his word. It is argued that the authorial intent of WCF 1.8 allows room for the practice of textual criticism and that it does not require adoption of one particular strand of the Greek textual tradition as “approved” in every point of variation.

Key words: textual criticism, providential preservation of Scripture, doctrine of Scripture, preaching, textus receptus, Westminster Confession of Faith

As a concise statement regarding the authenticity, authority, and preservation of Holy Scripture, consider the detail and clarity of the Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF), chapter 1, section 8, whose first full sentence reads as follows:1

The Old Testament in Hebrew (which was the native language of the people of God of old), and the New Testament in Greek (which, at the time of the writing of it, was most generally known to the nations), being immediately inspired by God, and, by his singular care and providence, kept pure in all ages, are therefore authentical; so as, in all controversies of religion, the church is finally to appeal unto them.2

Despite the lucidity and power of these words, disagreement exists among Reformed Christians about how to understand and apply them.3 One particularly significant set of questions relates to the practice of textual criticism, which is the effort to identify the authentic text of Scripture from among competing variant readings. To put the matter bluntly, does the doctrine of Scripture expressed in the Westminster Confession allow room for the modern practice of textual criticism?

JETS 68:3 (September 2025) p. 406

For some, the answer is no. According to this view, affirmation of God’s providential preservation of his word is fundamentally incompatible with textual criticism as it has been applied to other ancient books, because it is a di...