Husband of one wife...

1. “Husband of one wife” – 22nd
May 2016
“Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful tohiswife, temperate, self-controlled,
respectable, hospitable,abletoteach…”(1Timothy 3:2).
As we read Apostle Paul’sEpistles, we canlearnthathis visionforelder/deacon/pastoristhatthe only
leaderworthfollowingisthe one whoissteadfastlyfollowingJesus’teachings.If he orshe is not,you
couldwindupsomewhere muchworse thanfollowinganonentityintermsof offeringguidanceand
leadershipinoneschurch.Paul'sstrategyforchurchplantingincludedthe eventual selectionof leaders
fromamong the convertsto oversee the ministryandspiritual growthof the community.
We can learnthisin Acts 14:23, “Paul andBarnabas appointedelders forthem in each church and,with
prayer and fasting, committedthem to the Lord, in whomthey hadput their trust”..In thisway the
missionariescouldmove onfreely andwithoutbeingrejectedwhentheyproceeded toexpandthe work
innewand unreachedareas. Itis here thatwe come across the statement “Husbandofone wife” that
we findin 1 Timothy3:2, “Now the overseer isto be above reproach,faithful tohis wife,temperate,
self-controlled,respectable,hospitable,abletoteach…”. It isbroadlyheldthatthe book of Timothy isa
'pastoral'epistle writtenbythe Apostle Paul.AsPaul'steamof trainedcoworkersgrew,he entrusteda
gooddeal of the workto them.Therefore the selecthadto be above boardin everyway.
There'sno roomfor political maneuveringinspiritual leadership.Inthe New Testamentwe canlearn
froma listof qualificationsorthe necessaryrequirementsforthe office of elderoroverseer.We come
across fourmajor texts thatdeal withthe qualificationsof the pastororelder.One suchisin 1 Timothy
1:5–7, “The goal of thiscommandis love,which comesfrom a pure heart anda good conscienceand a
sincere faith.6
Some have departed fromthese andhave turned to meaninglesstalk. 7
They wantto be
teachers of the law, but they do not knowwhat they are talkingaboutor what they so confidently
affirm”.
Paul visionforelder/deacon/pastor istobe above reproach:“Nowthe overseer is to be above
reproach, faithful tohiswife, temperate, self-controlled,respectable,hospitable,abletoteach…”(1
Timothy3:2). Whenhe says:“the overseer is to be above reproach” the Greekword for"blameless"
[anenkltos,"unreprovable"] indicates"one againstwhomnocharge hasbeenbrought, or notbe able to
call to account, or bringcharge against." Paul requiredyjemtolive anexemplarlifesothatthere isno
occasionto call himto account or bring a charge againsthim.He mustnot be a reproachuponthe cause
of Christ.
"The husbandof one wife"inGreekliterallyis"amanof one woman".The wordingdoesn'tsimply
indicate aman attachedto onlyone womanbut meansone whois"a one womankindof man."It
shouldbe hisnature to directand centralize hislove.Itdoesnotindicate thatthe presbyterorthe
pastor mustbe married,butit forbidswanderingdesiresandbigamyunderanycircumstance. Whenwe
readthe above statedpassage inreference to “Husbandofone wife” there are at leastthree possible
interpretationsof the phrase husband of onewifeinthat we findas above in 1 Timothy3:2. When we
readthis passage there are three elementsthatwe needtoconsider.Firstbeingthatitcouldsimplybe
sayingthat a polygamistisnotqualifiedtobe anelder,adeaconor a pastor.This is the most literal

2. interpretationof the Englishrenderingof the phrase,butseemssomewhatunlikelyconsideringthat
polygamywasquite rare inthe time that Paul was writing. Secondwe canlearnthatthe Greekcould
literallybe translatedas“one-womanman.”Inotherwords,abishopmustbe absolutelyloyal tothe
womanhe is marriedto.Thisinterpretationacknowledgesthatthe original textfocusesnotonmarital
statusbut on moral purity. Thirdlythatthe phrase couldalsobe understoodtodeclare that,inorderto
be an elder/deacon/pastor,aman can onlyhave beenmarriedonce,otherthaninthe case of a
remarriedwidower;inotherwords,apastor cannotbe a divorcé.
From above the interpretation2and 3 are the most prevalenttoday.Interpretation2seemstobe the
strongest,primarilybecausewe cansee thatScripture allowsfordivorce inexceptionalcircumstances.
We can readthisin Matthew 19:9, “I tell youthat anyone whodivorces hiswife, except for sexual
immorality,andmarriesanother womancommits adultery.” We can also learnfrom 1 Corinthians
7:12–16. Fromthisreadingwe getan importantquestionthatcomestous in verse 16: 16
How doyou
know, wife,whether you will save your husband?Or,how do you know,husband,whether you will
save your wife”(Corinthians7:16). Furtherto the above passage we can learnthat it isalsoimportantto
differentiateamanwho wasdivorcedandremarriedbefore he became aChristianfromaman whowas
divorcedandremarriedafterbecomingaChristian.Anotherwise qualifiedmanshouldnotbe excluded
fromchurch leadershipbecauseof hisactionspriortocomingto know the Lord JesusChristas his
Savior.Although 1Timothy 3:2 doesnot necessarilyexclude adivorcedorremarriedmanfromserving
as an elder/deacon/pastor,there are otherissuestoconsider.
The firstqualification of anelder/deacon/pastoristobe “above reproach” as we can read in 1 Timothy
3:2. If the divorce and/orremarriage hadnobiblical grounds,thenthe manhasdamagedhistestimony
inthe church andcommunity.The “above reproach”qualificationwill excludehimfromthe pastorate
rather thanthe “husbandof one wife”requirement.Anelder/deacon/pastoristobe a man whomthe
church and community “canlookup to” as an example of Christ-likenessandgodlyleadership.If apast
divorce and/orremarriage detractsfromthisideal,thenhe shouldnotserve inthe positionof
elder/deacon/pastor.Itisimportanttorememberthat,eventhoughamanis disqualifiedfromserving
as an elder/deacon/pastor,he isstill avaluable memberof the bodyof Christ.
If one were tofall onthissituationwhere one mayrequire tobe rejected,the processneednotend
there.Because everyChristianpossessesspiritual gifts andiscalledtoparticipate inedifyingother
believerswiththose gifts.We canlearnthisfrom 1 Corinthians12:4–7, “There are differentkindsof
gifts,but the same Spiritdistributesthem. 5
There are differentkindsof service, but the same Lord.
6
There are different kindsofworking, butin all of them and ineveryone it isthe same Godat
work.7
Nowto each one the manifestationofthe Spiritis givenfor the common good”. We can learn
that evenif a manwho isdisqualifiedfromthese positionsof elder/deacon/pastor,he orshe can still
teach,preach,serve,pray,worship,andplayanimportantrole inthe church.