The Husband of one wife literaly in the Greek means "One woman man" or that a pastor is not to be a womanizer. The focus is not so much on being married as it is him not being a Adulteror or Fornicator.
If we say single pastors (never married) are barred from the ministry then the Apostle Paul would have been barred from the pastoring (which is a Shocking thought) or if a pastor's wife dies he suddenly is unqualified since death ends a marriage. The idea is used that Paul was not a pastor ....which is false. Paul was a church planter and did pastor churches when he was in that locale. Paul was also an Apostle..a higher office than the pastorate. To say single pastors are not qualified would make Paul comments in 1 Timothy 3 hypocritical.
Such a idea implies unmarried people are not as mature. A idea that is foreign to the New Testament but common among American evangelicals. It also appears that Timothy was unmarried at the time Paul wrote him. Was Paul telling him to get married so he could be qualified to preach ?
To say single pastors are no qualified misses what Paul is saying in `1 Timothy 3. All the qualifications deal with moral qualifications and not a legalistic set of rules.
If we say single pastors (never married) are barred from the ministry then the Apostle Paul would have been barred from the pastoring (which is a Shocking thought) or if a pastor's wife dies he suddenly is unqualified since death ends a marriage. The idea is used that Paul was not a pastor ....which is false. Paul was a church planter and did pastor churches when he was in that locale. Paul was also an Apostle..a higher office than the pastorate. To say single pastors are not qualified would make Paul comments in 1 Timothy 3 hypocritical.
Such a idea implies unmarried people are not as mature. A idea that is foreign to the New Testament but common among American evangelicals. It also appears that Timothy was unmarried at the time Paul wrote him. Was Paul telling him to get married so he could be qualified to preach ?
To say single pastors are no qualified misses what Paul is saying in `1 Timothy 3. All the qualifications deal with moral qualifications and not a legalistic set of rules.