@farouk
Polygamy is condemned by Paul when he addressed the qualifications for deacons and Elders. "Elders and deacons are to be the husbands of ONE wife"! (1 Timothy 3:2,12; Titus 1:6)
First of all, this passage is not addressed to all believers in Christ, but applies only to elders and deacons. Period. We cannot take something that only applies to a specific group of men, and apply that too all men in general. This would be taking a verse out of its context.
Secondly, notice, these passages do not say "only" one wife. The Greek word that "one" is translated from here is word #3391, mia, and is also translated as "a" or "the first" in other parts of scripture. Thus the emphasis would be that an elder needs to be a married man, having children, and that he must not have divorced his first wife.
For example, in the following passages, the word "a" is the same word translated "one" above:
Matthew 21:19,"And when he saw a fig tree in the way..."
Matthew 26:69, "Now Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him...",
Revelation 9:13, "And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice..."
Likewise, Elders and deacons are to be the husbands of a wife, and have children, because if he cannot rule his own household, how can he rule the assembly of Christ? This passage does not limit him to only one wife, that is not its point. The purpose for these qualifications is stated in 1 Timothy 3:5, "(For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the assembly of God)?" The point is that he must be able to rule his wife and children, and if he has multiple wives, and is able to rule them, so much the better! Any man who can love and rule multiple women, and made them happy, according to the Word of God, is certainly qualified to rule a congregation of many other believers!
Another example of how the word "one" is translated is when scripture speaks of Christ having risen "the first day of the week" (Matthew 28:1, Mark 16:2,9, Luke 24:1, John 20:1,19), the phrase "the first" is translated from the same word that "one" is translated from above. Thus, it can also read as follows, "Elders and Deacons are to be the husbands of the first wife."
Again, the purpose for these qualifications is stated in 1 Timothy 3:5, "(For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the assembly of God)?" And if an elder or a bishop was divorced from his first wife, he would be violating God's Law regulating polygamy, which states, "If he take him another wife; her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish" (Exodus 21:10). In other words, if an elder or a bishop was not still married to his first wife because of divorce, but married to other women, then he would be diminishing his first wife's food, raiment, and her duty of marriage, and therefore evidences that he does not know how to rule his own house, and therefore cannot rule the assembly of God.
Some might object to this interpretation that an elder needs to be a married man with children because they say Paul was an elder but was a single man. However, scripture does not say Paul was an elder. And even though Paul was unmarried (1 Corinthians 7:8), a glance at Liddell and Scott's Greek-English Lexicon, and Zodhiates Word Studies, will reveal that 'unmarried' is used to denote both 'bachelors' and 'widowers'. It refers to those who are not currently married, whether they have never been married or were once married and have been widowed, or divorced. The parallelism thus suggests that in 1 Corinthians 7:8 'unmarried' refers only to widowers', and not to any bachelor or single person. Paul himself could have been a widower. Especially since the Bible implies that Paul was married! As a Pharisee (Acts 23:6; 26:5) Paul must have been married because there were no single Pharisees. Also, Paul himself defended his prerogative to take a wife and bring her on his journeys with him as other apostles (1 Corinthians 9:5).
Paul's purpose in 1 Corinthians 7 is not to give requirements and advice for the eldership, anyway! Due to the "present distress" (vs. 26) Paul advised "that it is good for a man to remain as he is:" This "present distress" was a situation unique to the earlier church due to the persecution that was prophesied by Daniel and Jesus.
Polygamy Is Not Sinful
Polygamy is condemned by Paul when he addressed the qualifications for deacons and Elders. "Elders and deacons are to be the husbands of ONE wife"! (1 Timothy 3:2,12; Titus 1:6)
First of all, this passage is not addressed to all believers in Christ, but applies only to elders and deacons. Period. We cannot take something that only applies to a specific group of men, and apply that too all men in general. This would be taking a verse out of its context.
Secondly, notice, these passages do not say "only" one wife. The Greek word that "one" is translated from here is word #3391, mia, and is also translated as "a" or "the first" in other parts of scripture. Thus the emphasis would be that an elder needs to be a married man, having children, and that he must not have divorced his first wife.
For example, in the following passages, the word "a" is the same word translated "one" above:
Matthew 21:19,"And when he saw a fig tree in the way..."
Matthew 26:69, "Now Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him...",
Revelation 9:13, "And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice..."
Likewise, Elders and deacons are to be the husbands of a wife, and have children, because if he cannot rule his own household, how can he rule the assembly of Christ? This passage does not limit him to only one wife, that is not its point. The purpose for these qualifications is stated in 1 Timothy 3:5, "(For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the assembly of God)?" The point is that he must be able to rule his wife and children, and if he has multiple wives, and is able to rule them, so much the better! Any man who can love and rule multiple women, and made them happy, according to the Word of God, is certainly qualified to rule a congregation of many other believers!
Another example of how the word "one" is translated is when scripture speaks of Christ having risen "the first day of the week" (Matthew 28:1, Mark 16:2,9, Luke 24:1, John 20:1,19), the phrase "the first" is translated from the same word that "one" is translated from above. Thus, it can also read as follows, "Elders and Deacons are to be the husbands of the first wife."
Again, the purpose for these qualifications is stated in 1 Timothy 3:5, "(For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the assembly of God)?" And if an elder or a bishop was divorced from his first wife, he would be violating God's Law regulating polygamy, which states, "If he take him another wife; her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish" (Exodus 21:10). In other words, if an elder or a bishop was not still married to his first wife because of divorce, but married to other women, then he would be diminishing his first wife's food, raiment, and her duty of marriage, and therefore evidences that he does not know how to rule his own house, and therefore cannot rule the assembly of God.
Some might object to this interpretation that an elder needs to be a married man with children because they say Paul was an elder but was a single man. However, scripture does not say Paul was an elder. And even though Paul was unmarried (1 Corinthians 7:8), a glance at Liddell and Scott's Greek-English Lexicon, and Zodhiates Word Studies, will reveal that 'unmarried' is used to denote both 'bachelors' and 'widowers'. It refers to those who are not currently married, whether they have never been married or were once married and have been widowed, or divorced. The parallelism thus suggests that in 1 Corinthians 7:8 'unmarried' refers only to widowers', and not to any bachelor or single person. Paul himself could have been a widower. Especially since the Bible implies that Paul was married! As a Pharisee (Acts 23:6; 26:5) Paul must have been married because there were no single Pharisees. Also, Paul himself defended his prerogative to take a wife and bring her on his journeys with him as other apostles (1 Corinthians 9:5).
Paul's purpose in 1 Corinthians 7 is not to give requirements and advice for the eldership, anyway! Due to the "present distress" (vs. 26) Paul advised "that it is good for a man to remain as he is:" This "present distress" was a situation unique to the earlier church due to the persecution that was prophesied by Daniel and Jesus.
Polygamy Is Not Sinful
