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Can A Man Have More Than One Wife?

A querist asks, “Can a man biblically have more than one wife? The Bible says that a bishop should be the husband of one wife (1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:6). That means that if he had two wives, he couldn’t be a bishop, but it doesn’t say he cannot have two. It implies that some men had more than one and therefore could not be a bishop. If I understand right, the Bible gives two means of achieving the right to remarry (death or infidelity of the spouse), and neither of these prevents one from holding this office (bishop). I do believe that God’s original plan was for man to have one wife, but that doesn’t mean it is a sin does it?”

In Matthew 19:4-6-NKJV, our Lord stated the following regarding the marriage relationship:

“Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.“

When a man chooses a woman to be his wife, she becomes the complement of himself; that which is needed to make the complete man, so the two are one. It takes both to make one being as originally created (Genesis 2:20-25).

This union is indissoluble in God’s sight (Matthew 19:6) with only two biblical exceptions (Matthew 5:32; Matthew 19:9; Romans 7:1-3). This union illustrates the “oneness” of Christ and His church (Ephesians 5:30-33). We become “one” with Christ when we are baptized into His body, the church (Romans 12:5; Gal. 3:27-28; Ephesians 1:22-23).

Marriage between male and female is therefore similar in nature to the marriage between Christ and His church. As the two entities become “one flesh” (Matthew 19:5), so also Christ and the members of His body, the church (Romans 12:5; 1 Corinthians 10:17; Ephesians 1:22-23) become “one” in a spiritual sense (Romans 12:5; Ephesians 4:4; Ephesians 5:30-32).

The answer then to the querist’s original question, “Can a man biblically have more than one wife,” is obviously “No.” Thus, a man seeking the work of an elder (bishop) cannot have more than one wife. Having more than one wife would constitute a sin (1 John 3:4).