These words of gracious exhortation addressed by the Apostle Paul to the church of the Thessalonians under the guidance and inspiration of the Holy Spirit are particularly appropriate to the Trinitarian Bible Society who has nearly two hundred years of testimony and service in the production and distribution of the Holy Scriptures. The Bible itself is a precious gift from God, in which 'the exceeding riches of His grace, in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus', are wonderfully manifested. The wisdom, the power, the grace, and the providence of God, exercised and demonstrated in the inspiration, preservation, and effectual application of the Word of truth, give further cause for praise and thanksgiving. Of the Holy Scriptures the Lord Jesus Christ, God manifest in the flesh, alone could say, 'They are they which testify of me', (John 5.39), and wherever that testimony has been received under God's gracious blessing, reverent praise and worship rise from thankful hearts to the God of all grace.

Distribution of the Word

In recent years several hundred thousand Bibles and New Testaments and more than a million smaller portions of the Word of God have been distributed annually in more than a hundred countries. Through the hands of dedicated Christian workers in many lands these copies of the Holy Scriptures have reached the hands of individual readers, and have been the means of blessing to many, enabling them to echo the testimony of the Apostle, 'God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, bath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ' (2 Corinthians 4.6). Among very poor communities in Africa, India, the Far East, and South America, the Scriptures have been supplied freely or sold below the cost of production, which has increased inexorably year by year. In the 1930s one could buy a neat little Bible for a 'shilling', the equivalent of about five pence today. At the present time five pence is considered a very modest price for a bookmark bearing a single text of Holy Scripture. (In Canada the equivalent of five pence would now be about 13 cents, and in the USA about 11 cents). Nevertheless, in this period, the annual distribution of complete Bibles by the Society has multiplied more than fifty times. For this sufficient, sustained, and timely provision the Society gives thanks to God, the 'giver of every good and perfect gift'.

The Lord's provision

The premises owned and occupied by the Society are also a monument to the bountiful providence of the Most High. The Society was obliged to move several times in the nineteenth century, and continued its work in leased premises near the British Museum from 1904 to 1967, when the present much-needed provision was made. Many good friends of the Society were led to make sacrificial gifts towards the cost, and an encouraging flow of subscriptions, donations, collections, and legacies, in addition to income from sales of Scriptures, has made it possible year by year to replenish the 'warehouse' with fresh supplies to replace the many tons of Bibles sent out for worldwide distribution. The Society exists for a spiritual purpose—''to promote the glory of God and the salvation of men by circulating at home and abroad in dependence upon the Divine blessing the Holy Scriptures, which are given by inspiration of God, and are able to make men wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus'—but even in the more material aspects of the work there is good cause for thanksgiving: 

Thy providence is kind and large,
Both man and beast Thy bounty share.
The whole creation is Thy charge,
But saints are Thy peculiar care.

Scriptural principles

The Trinitarian Bible Society was founded in 1831 after a period of controversy among supporters of the British and Foreign Bible Society regarding the constitution and policy of that Society. Deep concern was expressed over the lack of a Scriptural doctrinal basis sufficiently explicit to ensure that 'Unitarians' denying the Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ could not be admitted to membership or hold office in the Society. A motion recommending the adoption of such a basis was the subject of a prolonged and heated debate in Exeter Hall in the Strand, London, at the Annual Meeting. The motion was rejected by a large majority, but those who were deeply convinced that the decision was wrong formed a 'Provisional Committee', which first met at 32 Sackville Street on 20th May 1831, with the object of persuading members to reconsider the matter and adopt a Trinitarian basis. When it became clear that there was no prospect of bringing this about, the 'Provisional Committee' convened a meeting to establish a Bible Society on Scriptural principles. This meeting was held on 7th December, 1831, and the Trinitarian Bible Society was established.

There have been some changes in the 'Laws and Regulations' of the Society in the last 150 years, but all of the fundamental principles and doctrines set forth in the basis in 1831 have remained unchanged. To the founders of the Society and to those who have since supported the work, matters of Biblical doctrine, principle, and practice have been of supreme importance. From the beginning the Trinitarian Bible Society has been concerned about the purity of the canon, text, and translation of the Holy Scriptures, and about ecumenism in the realm of Bible Society work. These issues are not of recent origin, but were to a large extent the cause of the Society's separate existence.

Preserving the purity of the Word

The path of Christian separation is never an easy one, nor does it have a popular appeal, but that path has to be trodden by the Lord's people if they are to avoid conformity with the flexible and unscriptural standards which have gained general acceptance in these latter times. The basis of the Society excludes the Apocrypha, reflecting an earlier protest voiced by the Scottish supporters of the British and Foreign Bible Society (BFBS) regarding the inclusion of the Apocrypha in Bibles circulated in some of the European languages. The strong current of public protest constrained the BFBS to exclude the Apocrypha from 1826 until 1966, when a revision of their constitution left the society free to publish editions containing these books, which are regarded by the Roman Catholic Church as an integral part of the Bible. The progress of ecumenism, and the popularity of the 'Common Bible' concept, evidently rendered acceptable in 1966 a policy that was resisted and rejected in 1826.

During much of the 19th and 20th centuries the Trinitarian Bible Society has stood unequivocally for the circulation of Protestant versions only, and has drawn attention to the deficiencies of the Roman Catholic Versions, including the older versions based on the Latin Vulgate, and the more recent ones such as the Jerusalem Bible and the New American Bible, made from the original tongues. The corruption of the Vulgate text and the doctrinal errors in the text and vernacular translations, were the subject of numerous informative and critical pamphlets issued by the Trinitarian Bible Society emphasising the importance of preserving the purity of the text underlying the translations.

The modern versions

In the last thirty-five years, the era of the modern English versions, the Society has maintained its insistence that translations must be made from a reliable form of the text. The effect of the misguided theories and methods of textual criticism advocated by Westcott and Hort, reflected in the English Revised Version of 1881, and largely endorsed by the translators of the modern English versions, has brought about the rehabilitation of a defective 4th century Egyptian form of the text represented by the manuscript known as Codex B or Codex Vaticanus, and by the small group of manuscripts which share its omissions and other alterations. These textual short-comings, affecting many passages of great doctrinal importance, especially those relating to the Deity and Sonship of the Lord Jesus Christ, have been demonstrated in a series of reviews published in the Society's Quarterly Record and separately in booklet form. In 1831 one of the 'Laws and Regulations' of the Society required that 'the copies circulated in English shall be those of the Authorised Version'. Among the modern versions which have appeared in recent years, although they vary much in style and general character, the Society has not encountered one which could be conscientiously recommended in place of the Authorised Version, which is still the only English version circulated by the Society, and has not been equalled or excelled.

Seed-sowing in many lands

The Society has not participated in ecumenical translation projects, but it has provided many thousands of Bibles, New Testaments, and Scripture portions for distribution among Roman Catholic communities. Spanish Bibles have been circulated in Mexico, Columbia, Bolivia, and in fact every Spanish speaking country in Central and South America, as well as in Spain, the Canary Islands, and among Spanish readers in the USA Portuguese Scriptures have been placed in the hands of countless thousands of readers in Brazil, Portugal, and East Africa. French Scriptures have been widely distributed in France, Belgium, Switzerland, North Africa, Zaire, Canada, and Haiti. 

In recent years Scriptures in Russian, Polish, and other languages of Eastern Europe have reached many readers in places where Christian worship and testimony are discouraged and the distribution of the Holy Scriptures severely restricted.

New translations

While this flow of Scriptures in many languages has been maintained the Society has also sponsored new translations in languages of Africa, India, and Malta. The New Testament has been translated , printed, and circulated in Pokot, Chad Arabic, Simte, and Thadou. Work is in progress on many other translations of the whole Bible in languages of India.

Fruitfulness of the Word

Meanwhile, Bibles, New Testaments, and Scripture booklets in English, all in the Authorised Version, are being distributed in the United Kingdom and wherever the English language is spoken. Large-type Scriptures for those with imperfect sight, Bibles, Scripture booklets for children, posters at railway stations and many other sites, Golden Thoughts Scripture text calendars in countless homes, Bibles for the pocket, the pulpit, and the pew, all bring the Word of God daily to many readers. The fruitfulness of such a work is not ensured by the devotion, energy, or ability of those engaged in it, nor by the amount of money received and spent, nor by the tonnage of paper used and the number of copies produced and distributed. The promises of God, and His faithfulness, power and grace in their fulfilment, are an all-sufficient guarantee that His Word shall not return unto Him void, but shall accomplish that which He pleases, and prosper in the thing where to He sent it (Isaiah 55.10,11). Accompanied by the gracious power of the Eternal Spirit, the inspired Word comes to many; bringing deep conviction of sin, and revealing the grace and glory of the Divine Redeemer, who is able to save to the uttermost those who come unto God by Him.

Fellowship in the Gospel

The work of the Trinitarian Bible Society has been well supported from generation to generation by godly, evangelical Christian people, to whom the Holy Scriptures have been 'a treasure to be desired ... the voice of the LORD, powerful and full of majesty'. Their testimony, individually and corporately, has rested upon the same sure foundation of God's inspired Word. They have sought to stand in the old paths, in dependence upon the God of all grace. Calling to remembrance the blessings of the past, and the promises for today, and for the future, in time and eternity, members of the Society have good cause to give praise and thanks to God, and to trust Him, for 'He abideth faithful'.

In everything give thanks.

This article was first published in Quarterly Record 471 and updated for online publication. Last updated 27 November 2023.