If a man in a polygamous marriage gets converted- what must he do with regards to his marriages?
Discussion
50 comments
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Very good question!
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Be faithful to them.
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They are still his wives. The scripture doesn’t forbid polygamy. It only states a man can be a Bishop with more than one wife
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Crazy guess but i would think the only marriage that would count is the first. Everything else was adultery.. illegal is some states..multiple marriages were a thing in the past in the Old Testament and frowned apparently in Genesis. I bet guys converted because just one lady is tooo much lol. Hope not to offend. Just a guess. Lol
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He should settle all the other wives with their families only the first wife is his wife or he should remain with them but he will never be a leader in the house of God
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Jesus Himself re-affirmed the Old Testament principle “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh” (Mat 19:5). So I believe the man must pick one wife and divorce the others.
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Repent and only choose one.
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My grandfather let go of his second wife, and kept his first wife, after they became Christians.
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You can’t look at the scripture from American cultural lenses.
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Reconcile to his original wife
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Nothing
Only he cannot be a pastor and a deceon -
Ask his wives if they are happy with the situation.
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The Bible makes it clear that marriage is between a man and a woman. Two become one. Therefore to live a Christian walk the man must commit to one wife. For those commenting about ancient practices of taking multiple wives- the Bible describes this cultural practice but does not prescribe it. Meaning- this was not something God ordained but was created by man.
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if he is converted he would ONLY have one wife
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The Bible is not against polygamy. That’s purely cultural and nothing religious.
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Polygamy is adultery. He must send away the other women or at least stop having sex with them. The first is his wife.
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i totally disagree….he must love all his wives and suypport them…they are not to seperate
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Remain with the all of his wives. Let those leave that want to leave if they don’t want to stay marry to a Christian man . Paul told the Corinthians stay stay in the same state as they were when they name Christians. For him that means staying married to all of his wives. Carry in where they have carried on and get marital counseling with a Christian pro or just a pro counselor if needed
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The authority of Christ is over the culture. ” For this reason A man shall leave his father and mother and the TWO shall become ONE flesh”
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Is it ok for a woman have more than one husband?
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The Bible does not teach that previous polygamists should divorce to pursue monogamy. In 1 Timothy 3:2, we are told that a pastor should only have one wife. This may indicate that some believers were polygamists, and although it is not the Christian ideal, they had not been required to choose one wife. This makes sense: even though Jacob was a polygamist, God still blessed him and did not require him to choose one wife.
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A lot of us here are confusing patriarchal polygamy, and making it seem like an acceptable norm in NT times. It is not.
God’s standard from the very beginning has been a man to a wife.
Men wanting to do their own thing as is consistent with our fallen nature chose to do otherwise.
Christ, the SECOND PERSON OF THE TRIUNE GOD, addressing the issue of divorce set things in order by referring us to how marriage was originally intended to be. One man, one woman, symbolic of Christ’s marriage with his Bride, the Church; which was foreordained before creation itself began.
Paul reaffirmed this by saying those seeking to be leaders must be of one wife to be an example to the rest: namely the people they will lead.
Citing Abraham and Jacob and others and with their polyamorous lives means you have a very skewed understanding of the biblical concept of marriage.
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Let your repentance yield fruits…..partying ways Period
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Remain in the situation he is in that he came to Christ. The holy spirit will sort things out. Read the scripture in 1 Corinthians 7 and the rest of the bible.
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Die to himself by repentance, be buried with Christ in baptism, and rise to live in newness of life (Rom 6:3-4; Col 2:12-13).
Let him remain with his first wife (Matt 19:3-9).
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Let all but the first wife go and pay child support.
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Well, if the polygamous husband actually wants to follow the Bible’s examples of the patriarchs, kings, and some prophets, he would actually take on more wives.
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He must pick one wife. The Bible is clear “you cannot serve two masters” ??
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I’d probably start by not marrying any more women.
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Try to convert his wives thereafter..and stop taking any more wives….
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Keep his wives and marry no more.
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the bible isn’t against polygamy
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Let a man remain in the state wherein he was when he was called. (1 Corinthians 7:24 says “Brethren, let each, in whatever state he is called, abide therein with God.” New Matthew Bible.)
The Old Testament allowed polygamy. It is clearly not desirable, but it is less desirable to make widows and orphans. The converted man has an opportunity now to teach the ways of the faith to his large family. What an opportunity for all! -
Polygyny is not forbidden in the bible. Nowhere in the bible. Period.
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In addition to the numerous wives and concubines David already had, here is what God said to him after his adultery with Bathsheba (who also became his wife):
Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. 8 And I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I WOULD ADD to you as much more. (2 Samuel 12:7–8)
In the NT: Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches. Was anyone at the time of his call already circumcised? Let him not seek to remove the marks of circumcision. Was anyone at the time of his call uncircumcised? Let him not seek circumcision. For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God. Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called. 24 So, brothers, in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God. (1 Cor 7:17-20, 24)
Obvious this would not include living in sin. Having multiple wives was not a sin. If it were, then it could be said that God condones sin – which is not possible.
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Polygamist marriage is an oxymoron. Marriage is according to Genesis and the words of Jesus one man and one woman. Sure there was polygamy in the OT, but Hod never condoned it, He simply tolerated it.
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He would keep his 1st wife.
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A very delicate situation and the answer is even more complex.
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Only the first marriage is righteous.
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Wow, very good question, my knee jerk response would be to stay with the first wife, and divorce the other, but, then what happens to the second wife, what if there are children? is she free to remarry, or would she then be guilty of adultery? Remaining with both really isn’t Biblical either.
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“1 Corinthians 7:17 Nevertheless, each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them, just as God has called them. This is the rule I lay down in all the churches.” Therefore they must remain polygamous.
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Is this a case of ‘Just asking for a friend’ ?
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Do as Christ does. Jesus only has one wife, the church. Not several churches and religions he is married to. the first wife is the one he would be obligated to recommit his vows to. Also the other marriages were not valid. To God, now that we know and have the revelation of Christ’s fulfilling of the OT as the second Adam and a revelation of God’s original design, the other relationships are seen as adulterous. Let us then look at God’s original design for marriage. Adam and Eve were created and were husband and wife. Adam had no other wives in Eden. The original design was always for one man and one woman. The multiple wives thing did not happen until pagan and godlessness infiltrated the civilizations after Adam. Just because it is in the Bible or David had many wives lol doesn’t mean it was God’s design, just that he allowed it as it was during these it times he was still re-revealing himself to mankind because the knowledge passed from adam had faded.
Also if you look at Noah who is called a righteous man who remembered the ways of Adam he only had one wife and his son’s also only had one wife to each of them. -
Follow the law of the land to avoid problems with the “authorities”
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Polygamy was never ideal, only tolerated in the Old Testament. That it is not the ideal and should not be practiced is seen in the idea of the church as the bride of Christ (Christ does not have multiple brides). However, other than instructions to church leaders, is there any specific condemnation of polygamy in the NT?
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Interesting question, I would think he would be obligated to stay married to all of them.
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Only one is valid.
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This is complex in ways many in the judeo-christian nations do not normally think about. In societys where polygamy is accepted or even encouraged a divorced wife is treated as dirt. No one cares for her. She might not be given food or a home. In situations like this when a polygamist husband becomes a Christian the first impulse might be to keep wife one and divorce the others. Think about the love of Christ in these situations. Repent yes, but whatever is done must be done in a way that is merciful and loving to these other women. If the “solution” results in these women being cast into the dirt I submit that cannot be the Godly solution.
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Same thing Jacob had to do with his wives. Honor them. He can’t unmarry them.
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He cannot divorce anyone of them but he must live with the first wife and the second wife has to live separately but the husband is responsible to provide all the necessary thing towards the second wife.
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