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NASB | 1 Timothy 3:2 An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 1 Timothy 3:2 Now an overseer must be blameless and beyond reproach, the husband of one wife, self-controlled, sensible, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, |
Bible Question: But didn't He? Just by the fact that God used terms that are so synonymous with marriage. Doesn't husband and wife at least infer if not insist on marriage? |
Bible Answer: Hello Ed, I feel that it doesn't have to insist on marriage. I can read this as saying, "the husband of but one wife".. In other words, I feel that Paul is addressing the condition of one's morality here since he goes on to mention one's temperence, prudence, respectability, and hospitability, etc, etc.. which all have to do with a person's character or moral integrity- which is a direct relationship to where they are in relation to our Lord Jesus Christ. In other places of Scripture, Paul mentions the condition of sexual purity first before any others, and I believe that he is doing it here also.Before Paul even mentions the phrase "the husband of one wife", he says that "An overseer, then, must be above reproach".. Therefore, the phrase "husband of one wife" serves as a description of exactly how one should be "above reproach". In either case, I feel that Paul is not infusing the meaning that being married is a prerequisite for being an overseer or leader. EdB, I thank you for your brotherhood in Christ. I did not write the following in any 'mean spiritedness', but I believe that my point should be displayed to the greater consciousness of the Forum since I am coming straight from the Bible. |