Bible study

Office of a bishop - the husband of one wife

Andrey Miroshnikov

02 Sep 2026 — 14 min read

Cover done by my wife.

Being a bishop is an office (1 Timothy 3:1 KJV), and not a gift of the Spirit, and thus something a brother works for and can be ordained by the brethren if he meets the qualifications set out in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9.

In particular for this study/article, a bishop is to have one wife:

1 Timothy 3:2 KJV
2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;

The requirement of one wife is also repeated in Titus:

Titus 1:6 KJV
6 If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly.

Why is this important enough to be mentioned twice?

Christ and his Bride

In the Old Testament, Psalm 128 describes a blessing that man has when he fears the Lord (notice singular "wife")

Psalm 128:1-4 KJV
1 Blessed is every one that feareth the LORD; that walketh in his ways.
2 For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.
3 Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table.
4 Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the LORD.

The husband is the head of the wife, and this is compared to Christ and his church (bride).

Ephesians 5:21-24 KJV
21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.
22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.

As a husband, you are to love your wife, and as Christ did for the church, to give yourself for her, to sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of the word. To nourish your wife as Christ does for the church.

Ephesians 5:25-29 KJV
25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.
29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:

Interestingly also, Paul repeats the passage first given in Genesis 2:24, and later repeated by Jesus in Matthew 19:5-6. It is also mentioned in 1 Corinthians 6:16.

Ephesians 5:30-33 KJV
30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
33 Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.

Matthew 19:3-6 KJV
3 ¶ The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?
4 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,
5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?
6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

Genesis 2:20-24 KJV
20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.
21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

Comparison with the Body of Christ

The Body of Christ is one, even though it is made of many members.

Ephesians 4:3-6 KJV
3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

1 Corinthians 12:11-13 KJV
11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.
12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.
13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

However just because the body of Christ is made of many members, doesn't mean that you can be married to several women at once.

1 Corinthians 6:15-17 KJV
15 Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid.
16 What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.
17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.

1 Corinthians 7:10-11 KJV
10 And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband:
11 But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife.

1 Corinthians 7:39-40 KJV
39 The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord.
40 But she is happier if she so abide, after my judgment: and I think also that I have the Spirit of God.

Even when it came to Bath-sheba, she was called "the wife of Urias":

(Note: Uriah (Hebrew, Old Testament), Urias (Greek, New Testament))

Matthew 1:6 KJV
6 And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias;

2 Samuel 11:3 KJV
3 And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bath-sheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?

Although after the death of Uriah/Urias, she did become his wife:

2 Samuel 11:26-27 KJV
26 ¶ And when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband.
27 And when the mourning was past, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD.

2 Samuel 12:24 KJV
24 ¶ And David comforted Bath-sheba his wife, and went in unto her, and lay with her: and she bare a son, and he called his name Solomon: and the LORD loved him.

Trouble men in the Bible go through when they have several wives

As happened with Peninnah and Hannah, one of the wives provokes the other...

1 Samuel 1:5-7 KJV
5 But unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion; for he loved Hannah: but the LORD had shut up her womb.
6 And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the LORD had shut up her womb.
7 And as he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of the LORD, so she provoked her; therefore she wept, and did not eat.

A man's covetousness and lust leads to adultery.

2 Samuel 11:2 KJV
2 ¶ And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.

The scriptures warn men about lusting after the flesh:

Proverbs 6:20-26 KJV
20 ¶ My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
21 Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck.
22 When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.
23 For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:
24 To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.
25 Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids.
26 For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life.

Proverbs 7:18-21,24-27 KJV
18 Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning: let us solace ourselves with loves.
19 For the goodman is not at home, he is gone a long journey:
20 He hath taken a bag of money with him, and will come home at the day appointed.
21 With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him.
...
24 ¶ Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth.
25 Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths.
26 For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her.
27 Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.

A bishop is supposed to be "One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity;" (1 Timothy 3:4), now how much more difficult when you have children by multiple wives (read about the descendants of David in the historical books, 1 and 2 Samuel, and 1 and 2 Kings).

David despised the commandment of the Lord God (Exodus 20:14,17), and David was cursed as a result.

2 Samuel 12:7-10 KJV
7 ¶ And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;
8 And I gave thee thy master’s house, and thy master’s wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things.
9 Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.
10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.

Jacob, the son of Isaac, first served for Rachel, but was beguiled after a feast (perhaps he was drunk?) and was given Leah instead:

Genesis 29:21-25 KJV
21 ¶ And Jacob said unto Laban, Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in unto her.
22 And Laban gathered together all the men of the place, and made a feast.
23 And it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him; and he went in unto her.
24 And Laban gave unto his daughter Leah Zilpah his maid for an handmaid.
25 And it came to pass, that in the morning, behold, it was Leah: and he said to Laban, What is this thou hast done unto me? did not I serve with thee for Rachel? wherefore then hast thou beguiled me?

Being in that situation would be pretty tough, but had he listened to Genesis 2:24, perhaps he would have had less trouble, and a more peaceful household? We know that once he was married to Leah and Rachel, there was contention between them, and Rachel was made barren by God because Jacob loved her more.

I've no doubt Leah could have given birth to all 12 children of Israel, but nonetheless, it happened the way it did. It's interesting to consider that Jacob ended up living his life with Leah (because Rachel died in Genesis chapter 35).

And just to make it clear, you'll have trouble in the flesh when you marry, it's just this is made worse when you have several wives.

1 Corinthians 7:28 KJV
28 But and if thou marry, thou hast not sinned; and if a virgin marry, she hath not sinned. Nevertheless such shall have trouble in the flesh: but I spare you.

The two sisters ended up giving their handmaids to Jacob, so he ended up having 4 wives (2 wives and 2 concubines)...

Here is the breakdown by which women particular children of Jacob/Israel were born:

Leah (7): Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dinah (References: Genesis 29:32-35, 30:18,20-21)
Rachel's handmaid, Bilhah (2): Dan, Naphtali (References: Genesis 30:6,8)
Leah's handmaid, Zilpah (2): Gad, Asher (References: Genesis 30:11,13)
Rachel (2): Joseph, Benjamin (References: Genesis 30:24, 35:18)

This surely would've been a difficult household to manage and control.

And we know it was, look at the trouble Joseph had with "the sons of Bilhah" and "the sons of Zilpah" (it also doesn't help that Jacob loved the sons of Rachel more):

Genesis 37:2-4 KJV
2 These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report.
3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.
4 And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.

Consider the sin that Reuben committed by laying with his father's concubine:

Genesis 35:22 KJV
22 And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine: and Israel heard it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve:

And that is reflected in Jacob's dying words to Reuben:

Genesis 49:3-4 KJV
3 ¶ Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:
4 Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father’s bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch.

This might have been avoided completely, had Jacob only had one wife, and no concubines.

Leah mentions in Genesis 30 that her husband was taken from her by Rachel:

Genesis 30:14-15 KJV
14 ¶ And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them unto his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray thee, of thy son’s mandrakes.
15 And she said unto her, Is it a small matter that thou hast taken my husband? and wouldest thou take away my son’s mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with thee to night for thy son’s mandrakes.

However Leah was the one that ended up being buried in the same cave as Sarah, and Rebekah.

Genesis 49:30-31
30 In the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace.
31 There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah.

Rachel died on the journey from Beth-el, and ended up being buried at a different place.

Genesis 35:16-20 KJV
16 ¶ And they journeyed from Beth-el; and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour.
17 And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou shalt have this son also.
18 And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Ben-oni: but his father called him Benjamin.
19 And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Beth-lehem.
20 And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave: that is the pillar of Rachel’s grave unto this day.

Why is it important for the bishop to have one wife?

It is what God desired for man (Genesis 2:24).
It shows the lost an example of how Christ cares for his church (Ephesians 5)
It helps the bishop with being blameless (1 Timothy 3:2, Titus 1:6-7)
It helps keep the children faithful, not accused of riot or unruly (Titus 1:6)
Having children in subjection with all gravity, making it easier to rule your house (1 Timothy 3:4-5)
It shows that he is holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught (Titus 1:9)
It shows that you rightly divide the truth, knowing that polygamy is not acceptable today (2 Timothy 2:15)
Helps you to have a good report of them which are without (1 Timothy 3:7)

What about a widower?

Some people take this "one wife" requirement and change it by saying that it means "one wife at a time" (allowing to divorce and re-marry), but that would be adding to the word of God (Proverbs 30:5-6, Revelation 22:18-19 KJV).

A Christian should not marry another woman, unless his first wife passed away, anything else is adultery. Paul gives the brethren a choice of either staying unmarried/widowed, or to marry again if you burn (the second option disqualifying you from being a bishop or deacon).

1 Corinthians 7:7-9,27 KJV
7 For I would that all men were even as I myself. But every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that.
8 I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I.
9 But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn.
...
27 Art thou bound unto a wife? seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife.

However a bishop's (and deacon's 1 Timothy 3:12) requirement is stricter.

1 Timothy 3:2,12 KJV
2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;
...
12 Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.

Titus 1:6-7 KJV
6 If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly.
7 For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre;

This topic I have been studying pretty much soon after marrying my wife, sister Melaney, as she is very passionate (and jealous, like how our God is a jealous God). It has been a blessing to see that God wanted to have one man and one woman from the beginning. And we know that the Bible records men's sins and mistakes, for our own learning so that we wouldn't repeat them.