Last night we had a second Live Question and Answer night to
help conclude our message series, “God, I have a question.” One of the
questions asked was: what is meant by the husband of one wife in the
qualifications for elders and deacons? We did answer the question, but I
wanted to provide a more detailed answer given the importance of the concept.
This
characteristic, the husband of one wife, is the first of six positive qualities
that Paul employed to help describe a life that is above reproach – being above
reproach is fundamental qualification of a church leader. The husband of one
wife is also the most difficult or contentious of the list to define. A scholar
named C. K. Barrett described this characteristic as “notoriously obscure.”[1]
At least
four basic interpretations and a number of variations of those views have been
offered. One scholar suggested that it could mean: “(1) ‘Must be married,’ (2)
‘Not polygamous,’ (3) ‘Faithful to his wife,’ or (4) ‘Not remarried/divorced.” Another
suggested that the trait was meant to exclude those who “(1) were unmarried,
(2) were polygamous, (3) had been divorced, or (4) had remarried after the
death of their first spouse.” Yet another writer described the views as
marriage as a requisite, one wife in a lifetime, no divorce, and faithful to
one’s wife. And one final scholar expressed the views as elders must be
married, elders must not be polygamists, elders may marry only once, and elders
must be martially and sexually above reproach.
Perhaps the simplest explanation
for the challenge with this trait is that the phrase itself is unusual. A Greek
scholar William Mounce noted, “The Greek has to be ‘squeezed’ to illicit any
meaning.”[2]
Homer A. Kent, Jr. wrote, “The interpretation of this short phrase has been
disputed from the earliest times.”[3]
To help interpret the expression,
two considerations should be made. First, the overall tenor of the list found
in 1 Timothy 3 deals with issues of character not events or conditions. The marital
fidelity view understands the phrase “the husband of one wife” not as a
description of a condition that results from past events, but as a moral
quality that is currently being demonstrated. From a review of the grammatical
structure of the phrase in the context of the list, it appears that Paul was
emphasizing the man’s character related to male-female relationships and not
his actual marital situation. Well known pastor, John MacArthur affirmed the
same conclusion when he stated: “Paul is not referring to the leader’s marital
status, as the absence of the definite article in the original indicates.
Rather the issue is his moral, sexual behavior.”[4]
The first consideration gives merit to a marital fidelity view, which would be understood
as Paul calling for an elder to be faithful in his relationship with his wife
and with women in general.
Second, a
scholar named Sydney Page concluded from a study of the New Testament and
comparable literature that there was no obvious way at the time to express the
concept of marital fidelity in the Greek language at that time.[5] The lack of such an expression
may be a result of excessive moral laxity within the Greek culture. Again, John
MacArthur noted this qualification of marital fidelity “was especially
important in Ephesus, where sexual evil was rampant.”[6] The end result means that if you
wanted to express the idea of man who was faithful to his marriage vows or to
sexual morality if single, in a positive way, you would probably have to coin a
phrase.
Understanding exactly what is
meant by the words the husband of one wife is not simple. But it would appear
that a noted part of being above reproach as a church leader would mean that
the man in question exhibits faithfulness and fidelity to the marriage
relationship. His interaction with his wife and women in general is worthy of
imitation.
[1]C. K. Barrett, The Pastoral Epistles in the New English
Bible: With Introduction and Commentary (London: Oxford University Press,
1963; reprint, Grand Rapids: Outreach Publications, 1986), 58.
[2]William D. Mounce, Pastoral Epistles, Word Biblical
Commentary, vol. 46 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2000), 172.
[3]Homer A. Kent, Jr., The Pastoral Epistles: Studies in I and II
Timothy and Titus (Chicago: Moody, 1958), 126.
[4]John MacArthur, Jr., 1 Timothy, MacArthur New Testament
Commentary (Chicago: Moody, 1995), 104.
[5]Sydney Page, “Marital
Expectations of Church Leaders in the Pastoral Epistles,” Journal for the Study of the New Testament 50 (June 1993): 119.
[6]MacArthur, Different by Design, 116.
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