Husband of one Wife

Many different views on the phrase "one woman man"

Perhaps Paul best clarifies what he means when he reverses the phrase in 5:9

"A widow is to be put on the list only if she is not less than sixty years old, having been the wife of one man." (1 Timothy 5: 9 NAS)

Rob

 

So if the widow had her first husband to die when she was 30, she remarried at 40, & second husband died when she was 70, then she is NOT entitled to "be put on the list"?

Sumpin' ain't kosher here!

 

I interpret this to be that a woman has to have been married at least once to be a widow. It does not say that she cannot be married more than once.

 

Question: "No polygamy? Or no divorce?"

My pastor says "no polygamy".
I say "no divorce".
But the clergy is usualy more liberal than
us folks in the pew

Of course, my church practices that no one
will be ordained unless they have a wife.
(i.e. single men will NOT be ordained).

 

Its backwards around here (except at the bigger churchs), Ed.

Let me ask you what you think about this: Can a man serve as a deacon or pastor if his wife has been married before and was divorced due to him cheating on her? The man has never been married except to her? Just curious.

 

i've laid hands on 4 men who married women
who had been divorced. The requirement is for
the deacon not the wife. The requirement
is for a "one woman man" not a "one woman
man married to a one man womon".

BTW, both my wife and i are married to
a second spouse due to the death of the first.

 

The literal translation is "one woman man."
The word "divorce"is used elswhere in the new testament, but not here.
Polygamy is definitely ruled out by the literal Greek.
Divorce is not.
The man must simply not be a womanizer.

The widow must not have been prone to moving from man to man, the literal meaning being "a one man woman."

Anything beyond this is one's own opinion and not supported by scripture.

MR

 

It simply means a one woman man....to put divorce in there is to add to the text.

 

Sorry fellas... one woman means ONE not one at a time. That's adding to scripture too.

 

quoted by dianetavegia: Sorry fellas... one woman means ONE not one at a time. That's adding to scripture too.

It's a matter of interpretation of the verse. I believe that if there ever was a gray area it is here. I know of divorced and remarried christians living victorious lives. Our church takes it on a case by case basis.

 

Do YOU have a problem if the pastor's wife has been divorced? Especially if her first divorce was due to her ex-husbands infidelity?

 

Yes I do. Infidelity is not the unforgiveable sin.

 

Let me clarify what you are saying, maybe I don't understand:

There is a man who has never been married before.

He marries a wife who has been married before and divorced (before the man in (1) met her.

The cause of the divorce was infidelity on the woman's first husband's part. (Not hers).

Are you saying the man in part (1) cannot become a pastor because his wife has been married before? If so what is your Biblical basis?

Thanks,

 

Mt 5:32 But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.

Mt 19:9 And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery."

Mr 10:11 So He said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her.

Mr 10:12 And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery."

Lu 16:18 Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced from her husband commits adultery.

Ro 7:3 So then if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man.

Matthew 18:21 Then Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" 22 Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.

 

Dr. Bob, what if the husband only had 'one' instance of adultery and repented, begging for forgiveness and the wife refused, divorced him and then married this pastor? How can this pastor and his 'wife' shepherd and guide people to forgive others if she has a spirit of unforgiveness. Also, if she will not forgive those who sinned against her,

Matt. 6:14 "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

 

Let me pose a question.
Can a bachelor be a Bishop[Pastor)? He is not or has never been the husband of one (1) wife.