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No Bibles for the first four centuries. How did Christians in those days know what was what?

That's funny!

You mean to tell us that Peter or Paul or the Old Testament prophets or Moses or David were NEVER cited by:

Clement of Rome (30-100) ?
Justin Martyr (100-165)?
Hippolytus (170-235)?
Origen (185-251)?
Bishop Melito (2nd century)?
Ignatius of Antioch (died 120)?
Irenaeus (115-202)?
Eusebius of Caesarea (260-340)?
Cyprian (200-258)?
Basil (330-379)?
Clement of Alexandria (155-220)?
Cyril of Jerusalem (310-386)?
Gregory Nazianzen (330-389)?
Gregory of Nyssa (330-395)?
Hilary of Poitiers (315-367)?
Lactantius (240-320)?
Tertullian (late 2nd cent-early 3rd cent)?
Bishop Polycarp (69-156)?
Theophilus (2nd cent)?
Or the following who were born between 345 - 360? men like Jerome, Rufinus, John Chrysostom, Augustine, & John Cassian...?????

Irenaeus wrote about Matthew's & John's Gospel in 180.
Clement of Alexandria wrote about Mark's Gospel in 195.
Tertullian wrote about John, Mark, Luke, and Matthew's Gospel in 207.
Origen said the gospels are four in 228 and 248.
Victorinus said the gospels are four in 280, as did Methodius in 290.

Clement of Rome was already referencing one of Paul's epistles having been written "under the inspiration of the Spirit" as early as 96 & had mentioned at least eight New Testament books by 95.

The early church fathers (97-180) quoted from 28 of the 29 New Testament books. In fact, EVERY New Testament book was referenced pre-150 except Philemon and 3 John. The 170 A.D. Muratorian Canon had only excluded Hebrews, James, and 3 John. [And if Catholics want to make that an issue, they should talk...given that their first canonization of the Apocrypha came in 1546...and they didn't canonize dead saints until 995]

The Holy Spirit canonized the Bible; the Church merely received it -- reaffirming what the early church Fathers had already recognized in their writings as authoritative [for example, Hippolytus recognized 22 books his writings...he lived 170-235]

Irenaeus cited 21 of these books...Polycarp, a disciple of the apostle John, acknowledged 15 books.