“I, Tertius, who wrote this epistle, greet you in the Lord” (Romans 16:22).
An amanuensis is a person who is employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another. It is a fancy word for a first century scribe or a twenty-first century secretary.
Tertius identifies himself and the practical role he played in this epistle which the Romans received from the apostle Paul.
Because of this verse, Satan has sought to sow seeds of doubt in the minds of some about the inspiration (and thus, the accuracy and authority) of this epistle. If your faith in the ability of the Spirit of truth to guide Paul and his scribe(s) into an accurate record of God’s word is so frail and flimsy, you are destined to a life of debilitating doubt and unceasing uncertainty. It would almost appear that you are looking for an excuse for unbelief.
Paul is not the first Bible writer to have an amanuensis. Jeremiah, for example, had a scribe named Baruch (Jeremiah 36:26, 32). Both the prophet and his scribe appeared to have played a role in the physical composition and collection of the book called Jeremiah. This collaboration resulted in an inspired, canonical book of the Bible.
If the Holy Spirit was able to guide Jeremiah and his amanuensis Baruch into an inspired revelation of the truth, He was able to do the same seven centuries later with Paul and Tertius.
