The elder qualification, “husband of one wife” is listed by Paul in both 1 Timothy 3:2 and Titus 1:6. This qualification, like all other requirements, is an area of an elders life where he “must be blameless” (1 Tim. 3:2).

By implication, this qualification adds to the emphasis of elders only being men, “if a man desires the position of a bishop…” (1 Tim. 3:1), “if a man is blameless…” (Titus 1:6). Interestingly, the word translated “men” in these verses can also be translated “anyone” as it is in many translations, including the English Standard Version (ESV). This has led some to conclude that women as well as men can be elders if they desire the office of overseer. Mark Dunagan comments on 1 Timothy 3:1, “Clearly, the elder must be a man (3:2), referring to the qualification that is the subject of this article, husband of one wife.” Dunagan adds “Notice the word “any;” as long as a man was qualified, he could serve, regardless of his social and economic background” (https://www.study light .org/commentary/1-timothy/3-1.html).

Some religions have long accepted women in positions of leadership, including elders, in violation of this and other qualifications. Certainly, many women are capable of great leadership, but that is not their assigned role in the church. Paul writes,

“Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ. Now I praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all things and keep the traditions just as I delivered them to you. But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God” (1 Cor. 11:1-3).

Just as role differences between God the Father and God the Son do not diminish their divinity, neither is the dignity of men or women degraded because of their unique role assignments. Even with different roles within the Godhead, Jesus could declare, “I and my father are one,” (Jn. 10:30). Similarly, a husband and wife can be “one flesh” within their assignments (Eph. 5:31). Paul pronounces we are “all one in Christ Jesus” whether male or female (Gal. 3:27) but this does not negate our role assignments.

Alexander Strauch, writes in Biblical Eldership, An Urgent Call To Restore Biblical Church Leadership,

“To restrict women from the church eldership would be unjust and discriminatory if it were done arbitrarily by males for their own selfish ends, but if such restriction was part of the Creator’s wise plan, then it is not discrimination – it is just and good for the welfare of the family, the local church, and the whole human race” (p. 52).

The man who would qualify to be an elder must have a wife who is a woman. This means no man who is married to another man can qualify. Such relationships are condemned as sinful:

“For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due” (Rom. 1:26-27).

Paul reveals the only acceptable participants for a marriage are a man and a woman: “It is good for a man not to touch a woman. Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband” (1 Cor. 7:1-2). As applies to our subject, today’s marriage laws and many gender choices can make this very confusing. The intent of the Scripture is only a man born as a man, married to a woman born as a woman can qualify as the husband and wife relationship that must exist in an elder’s family.

Many religions view the family qualifications of an elder as “if, then” criteria. Meaning, “if” he is married and “if” he has children, “then” those qualifications apply. This is not a new view.

David Lipscomb and E.G. Sewell were Church of Christ restoration era preachers and editors of the Gospel Advocate beginning in the last half of the 1800’s. Together they authored the answers to a “Queries” column for forty years. When answering the question, “Can a man be a bishop or a deacon that has no wife?” Lipscomb replied,

“We believe an unmarried or childless man, if otherwise qualified, may be a bishop or a deacon. I think where the Scriptures says “the husband of one wife” it means he must have but one wife and be true to her. Then he speaks of having children. It means, since the rule was to have children, if he has them, he must rule them well. “But if a man knoweth not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?” (1 Tim. 3:5.) This shows the end of the wife and children was disciplinary to teach and train the persons for the work of caring for the house of God. Now, if a man gets his training in some other way and shows his fitness of ruling, even though he has no family of his own, shall the church be deprived of his proved talent?” (Kurfees, Questions Answered by Lipscomb and Sewell, pp. 204).

While this view certainly enlarges the field of candidates for eldership, it ignores the many family relationships that are entwined in and required as part of the inspired qualifications. An elder is required to have a wife and children. His relationships with both reveal his ability to lead his family with love and service. His ability to collaborate with his wife in successfully raising their children proves his competence of ruling his own house well. Without that proof, he is not considered qualified to lead the church.

Strauch attempts to make a case for a single man serving as an elder. He says,

“if Paul requires elders to be married, he flatly contradicts what he teaches in 1 Corinthians 7 where he outlines the distinct advantages of singleness in serving the Lord and even encourages singleness for the purpose of more effective, undivided service” (pp. 190).

Regarding children he says,

“He [Paul] is simply saying that an elder who has offspring must manage his home well. The fact is most men are married and have children. Scripture requires that these men have their homes in order and that their marital relationships exemplify what Christian marriage should be. These qualifications obviously don’t apply to elders who are single or childless” (Biblical Eldership, pp 191).

This view ignores that the 1 Corinthians 7 passage about the advantage of singleness is not about qualifications for the eldership. Men who never marry forfeit the right to be considered as an elder, just as women who never marry forfeit the right to be considered worthy of ongoing support by the church as a widow (1 Tim. 5:3-10).

One view from a Baptist pastor is if we insist elders must be married that would eliminate Christ, Paul, and Timothy from being elders.

“So, let’s get to the question at hand: can single men serve as elders, or must they be “filtered out” for not meeting the “husband of one wife” qualification (1 Tim. 3:2; Titus 1:6)? In short, I believe filtering out single men is overly restrictive, and therefore causes churches to miss out on some rich blessings the Lord has given. This restriction wouldn’t even come to mind except that that the passages seem to be teaching it. But a closer look shows that such an approach leads to unhealthy, even absurd conclusions. For example, it would eliminate Jesus, Paul, and (it seems) Timothy from the office of elder. It would also negate the powerful case the Apostle Paul makes in 1 Corinthians 7 for the benefits singleness brings to ministry. Paul celebrates single servants as being “free from concern” and able to focus completely on how they may please and serve the Lord, living in undivided devotion (1 Cor. 7:32, 35)” (Andy Davis, https://www.9marks.org/article/ can-single-men-serve-as-elders/).

This is rather like saying everyone who works in a school should be the principal instead of valuing all the individual roles that make up the educational system of the facility. This reasoning ignores the fact that Jesus is God and head of the church (Col. 1:18), not an elder. It also ignores that Jesus established the positions of responsibility in the church and the Holy Spirit inspired the qualifications for each of those positions.

“And He [Christ] Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:11-13).

The elder qualification “husband of one wife,” is identical in 1 Timothy 3:2 and Titus 1:6. In each, the phrase is, μιᾶς γυναικὸς ἄνδρα, transliterated as “miás gunaikós ándra.”

The first word of the phrase: μιᾶς ( (miás), is translated, “one” and is defined as “a cardinal number” with the explanation it “is a number used to express quantity, not order, and may serve as a noun, pronoun, adjective, or, in Greek, an adverb” (from The Complete Word Study Bible).

The second word, γυναικὸς (gunaikós), is translated “wife.” The third word of the phrase, ἄνδρα (ándra), is translated “husband.”

Lenski translates the phrase, “one wife’s husband” (First Timothy, pp 580). George Knight adds,

“literally ‘a man of one woman,’ or ‘a husband of one wife. The common New Testament words for ‘man’ and ‘woman,’ take on the meanings ‘husband’ and ‘wife’ in contexts such as here” (The New International Greek Testament Commentary, The Pastoral Epistles, pp. 156).

Since the word “one” is a cardinal number, it is not limiting an elder to only be married to his “first” wife. It is, however, defining and limiting the number of wives an elder can have to be qualified. He must have more than zero wives and less than two, in keeping with phrase “let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband” (1 Cor. 7:2).

The various views on this qualification include: it is a prohibition against polygamy, or that one who is an elder must be married, but only to his first wife, or that an elder must a married man who is faithful in his marriage.

Similar language is in the list of qualifications for widows who can be supported by the church.

“Do not let a widow under sixty years old be taken into the number, and not unless she has been the wife of one man, well reported for good works: if she has brought up children, if she has lodged strangers, if she has washed the saints’ feet, if she has relieved the afflicted, if she has diligently followed every good work” (1 Tim. 5:9-10).

The phrase “the wife of one man” in 1 Timothy 5:9 to qualify a widow for support is the mirror image of the phrase “the husband of one wife” in elder qualifications in 1 Timothy 3:2 and Titus 1:6.

Paul gives different paths for widow’s support consideration based on age. Those over sixty can be considered, providing they meet all the other qualifications. To the widows under sixty he says, “Therefore I desire that the younger widows marry, bear children, manage the house, give no opportunity to the adversary to speak reproachfully” (1 Tim. 5:14). Widows over sixty must be the “wife of one man.” Widows under sixty are encouraged to marry again. It does not seem likely Paul would advise widows under sixty to do what would disqualify them for consideration if they happen to become widows again over age sixty.

Therefore, it seems doubtful that the meaning of the phrase in 1 Timothy 5:9, “the wife of one man” would conflict with the advice in 1 Timothy 5:14 for younger widows to marry. That gives support to the view of “one wife’s husband” not being only the first spouse.

Lenski in commenting on the phrase “one wife’s husband” as given in 1 Timothy 3:2 for an elder, 1 Timothy 3:12 for a deacon, and 1 Timothy 5:9 for a widow, comments, “the sense is the same…None of these three expressions means that the person must have been married only once; all three mean that the person must have been true and faithful to one married spouse.” (p. 667).

Knight adds regarding elders, “One must look back over his life from the time of his conversion to ascertain his marital and sexual fidelity in having been ‘the husband of one wife’ ” (p. 159).

The Apologetics Press has a highly informative article on this subject. Kyle Butt writes,

“The phrase ‘the husband of one wife’ is a present tense statement that implies that a man should be currently married to one woman. The candidate for the eldership, about whom there is no question as it pertains to this one qualification, is a man who is currently married to the one and only woman who has ever been his wife, and they stay married throughout the duration of his eldership. A close look at the qualifications, however, would seem to indicate that a man who is remarried after the death of a spouse, or one who is remarried after a divorce caused by his wife’s sexual infidelity, is technically still viewed as the “husband of one wife.” (Kyle Butt, M.Div., Examining the “Husband of One Wife” Qualification for Elders. http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx? category=11&article=1643).

An elder is not the only one in his family who is subject to the qualification requirements and process. Not only must he qualify individually, his family is also included in the qualifications. All in the family are subject to the same process of evaluation and approval for the qualifications that apply to them. Any part of the family who fails to meet the qualifications disqualifies the man from serving in the office. As Paul writes, “if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church? (1 Tim. 3:5 ESV).

Article by: Greg Gay | 3816 Tambos Trl., Edmond, OK, 73034 | papagreg@aol.com