ABRAHAM DID IT. JACOB DID IT. DAVID DID IT.
SO WHY DOES THE NEW TESTAMENT REQUIRE A BISHOP TO BE THE HUSBAND OF ONE WIFE?
The Old Testament records polygamy. The Law of Moses regulated it. Some of Israel’s most celebrated figures practised it.
But does that mean a Christian pastor can take two wives and still claim biblical authority for doing so?
The question is not simply what Abraham, Jacob or David did. The question is what Jesus Christ and his apostles taught.
A recent church announcement in the United States has brought this difficult theological question into public discussion.
I believe the Church must respond with more than outrage, ridicule or isolated Bible quotations.
We need careful biblical interpretation, historical understanding, theological integrity and pastoral wisdom.
1. The recent American pastor controversy
On 25 October 2026, Pastor Israel Ford of LifeWorks Church in the Cleveland, Ohio area publicly presented a relationship involving two women whom he described as his wives.
According to published reports, his first wife and fellow church leader, Lydia Ford, introduced Minister Shakayla Talley Ford to the congregation as her husband’s second wife and her sister in marriage.
Pastor Ford was present during the announcement.
The relationship was described as polygynous, meaning a marital arrangement involving one man and more than one wife.
Reports also indicate that Ford said his relationship with Shakayla had existed for almost three years and that he challenged the belief that a man must have only one wife.
The announcement attracted attention because the first wife publicly affirmed the arrangement rather than opposing it.
But the fundamental theological question remains:
Does mutual agreement make a marital arrangement biblically right?
Consent is important. Yet Christian ethics cannot be determined by consent alone.
Nor can biblical doctrine be established simply because a pastor believes he has received divine approval.
The Church must examine the Scriptures carefully.
2. The first principle: Biblical description is not biblical prescription
One of the most common mistakes in biblical interpretation is assuming that everything Scripture records is something God approves.
The Bible records many human actions without endorsing them.
We must therefore distinguish three concepts.
Description: What the biblical narrative tells us happened.
Regulation: What biblical law permits, restricts or governs within a particular historical setting.
Prescription: What Scripture commands or establishes as a normative moral requirement.
These distinctions are essential.
Abraham had a child through Hagar while married to Sarah. Genesis presents Hagar as Sarah’s servant, and the circumstances should not be flattened into a simple account of a modern second marriage.
Jacob married Leah and Rachel and had children through Bilhah and Zilpah.
David had several wives.
Solomon accumulated many wives and concubines.
But the fact that these arrangements existed does not automatically prove that God intended every man to reproduce them.
Indeed, these households experienced significant difficulties.
Sarah and Hagar experienced conflict.
Leah and Rachel experienced rivalry.
David’s family experienced serious moral and relational crises.
Solomon’s marriages contributed to his spiritual downfall, as recorded in 1 Kings 11.
Not every family tragedy can be attributed solely to plural marriage.
Nevertheless, the biblical narratives do not establish polygamy as a guaranteed path to family peace or spiritual maturity.
God’s willingness to work through imperfect people does not mean he approved of every decision they made.
3. What did God establish at creation?
Genesis 2:24 declares:
“Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” (KJV)
The creation account presents a man and a woman entering a covenantal union.
The passage does not provide a detailed legal code addressing every possible marital arrangement.
Nevertheless, it establishes the foundational pattern later reaffirmed by Jesus Christ.
We must be careful here.
Simply observing that Adam had one wife is not, by itself, a complete theological argument against polygamy.
The stronger argument emerges from the way Jesus interprets Genesis.
4. What did Jesus actually teach?
In Matthew 19:3–9, the Pharisees questioned Jesus concerning divorce.
Jesus responded by returning to creation.
He referred to God’s creation of humanity as male and female and cited the one-flesh union described in Genesis 2:24.
He then declared:
“What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” (Matthew 19:6, KJV)
Jesus was directly addressing divorce, not answering an explicit question about polygamy.
Responsible interpretation must acknowledge that distinction.
However, his appeal to creation carries wider theological significance.
Jesus did not establish his argument by pointing to the marital practices of Abraham, Jacob or David.
He returned to the foundational account of marriage.
When challenged about Moses’ concession concerning divorce, Jesus explained that it had been permitted because of human hardness of heart.
He then said:
“But from the beginning it was not so.” (Matthew 19:8, KJV)
The immediate subject was divorce, but the interpretative principle is important.
Not every practice accommodated within Israel’s historical legislation necessarily represents the original ideal of creation.
Jesus directs Christian thinking about marriage back to God’s creational intention.
For Christians, his teaching carries decisive authority.
5. Did the Law of Moses permit polygamy?
Yes.
We must acknowledge this honestly.
Exodus 21:10 addresses a situation in which a man takes another wife and specifies obligations that must not be denied to the first.
Deuteronomy 21:15–17 addresses inheritance where a man has two wives.
These passages demonstrate that plural marriage existed in ancient Israel and was regulated by law.
It would therefore be historically inaccurate to claim that Mosaic legislation explicitly prohibited every form of polygamy.
But regulation is not necessarily endorsement.
A law may protect vulnerable people within an existing social arrangement without declaring that arrangement the ideal for everyone.
The distinction between legal accommodation and moral prescription is crucial.
Deuteronomy 17:17 also warns Israel’s king against multiplying wives.
The passage addresses royal excess and the danger of spiritual unfaithfulness, rather than setting out a complete marriage code for all Israelites.
Nevertheless, it challenges the assumption that possessing numerous wives necessarily demonstrates divine blessing.
The Old Testament’s regulation of polygamy does not, by itself, establish polygamy as the normative Christian ideal.
6. The apostolic requirement: The husband of one wife
This brings us to one of the most important passages in the discussion.
Paul writes:
“A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour…” (1 Timothy 3:2, KJV)
Titus 1:6 contains a comparable requirement for church elders.
The Greek expression mias gynaikos andra is often rendered literally as “a one-woman man”.
The precise implications have been debated in Christian interpretation.
Some scholars understand it as directly excluding polygamous men from church office.
Others emphasise marital fidelity and a man’s exclusive commitment to his wife.
Historical interpretations have also differed concerning remarriage following divorce or widowhood.
These debates should not be concealed.
However, the surrounding qualifications are unmistakably concerned with moral integrity, self-control, faithfulness and responsible household leadership.
Paul does not present multiple wives as a privilege associated with ministerial authority.
Rather, he requires church leaders to demonstrate exemplary domestic conduct.
A pastor’s marriage is not merely a private matter when his life is presented as an example to the Church.
The qualifications for ordained leadership must be interpreted within the whole apostolic vision of Christian character.
7. What about 1 Corinthians 7?
Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 7:2:
“…let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.” (KJV)
The passage occurs within a discussion of sexual morality, marriage and mutual obligations.
It emphasises reciprocal responsibilities between husband and wife.
Verses 3–5 speak of mutual conjugal duties and shared authority concerning marital intimacy.
We should not claim that Paul is delivering a complete legal treatment of polygamy in this chapter.
Nevertheless, the reciprocal language reflects the ordinary one-husband, one-wife framework of Christian marital instruction.
It reinforces the broader New Testament pattern.
8. Ephesians 5: Marriage and the mystery of Christ
Ephesians 5:22–33 gives Christian marriage a profound theological meaning.
Paul writes:
“Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it.” (Ephesians 5:25, KJV)
He then cites Genesis 2:24 and connects the marriage union with the mystery of Christ and the Church.
Marriage is therefore more than a cultural institution or personal arrangement.
It becomes a setting in which Christian spouses are called to demonstrate sacrificial love, fidelity, holiness and covenantal commitment.
The central model is Christ’s self-giving love.
A Christian husband is not called to imitate the marital privileges of ancient kings. He is called to imitate the sacrificial character of Jesus Christ.
That is a much more demanding standard.
9. What if the first wife willingly accepts a second wife?
This question is central to the recent controversy.
According to reports, Lydia Ford publicly affirmed the arrangement involving her husband and Shakayla.
We should not presume to know the private motivations of those involved.
Nor should we make unsupported allegations of coercion, manipulation or abuse.
Nevertheless, Christian moral reasoning cannot rest exclusively upon personal consent.
Consent matters, but it does not settle every theological question.
Christians regularly recognise that sincerity alone cannot establish the truth of a doctrinal claim.
First John 4:1 calls believers to test spiritual claims.
Acts 17:11 commends careful examination of Scripture.
A pastor’s conviction that God has approved something must still be examined against the teaching of Scripture.
This principle applies to every minister, including those who disagree with Pastor Ford.
Our responsibility is to examine the theological argument rather than attack the individuals.
For a wider discussion of religious claims and accountability, read How to Recognise Spiritual Manipulation in a Christian Relationship.
10. Does the New Testament explicitly prohibit every polygamous arrangement?
This question deserves a careful answer.
The New Testament does not provide an extended, systematic discussion of polygamy comparable to its treatment of divorce and certain other marital questions.
Nor does Jesus make a recorded statement explicitly addressing a man already living with two wives.
That observation should not be exaggerated.
Silence on a narrowly framed question does not automatically establish permission.
Equally, responsible teachers should not attribute words to Jesus that he did not say.
The Christian case for monogamy rests upon the cumulative biblical witness:
- Genesis 2:24 establishes the creation pattern.
- Matthew 19:4–6 records Jesus’ appeal to that pattern.
- 1 Corinthians 7:2–5 describes reciprocal marital responsibilities.
- 1 Timothy 3:2 and Titus 1:6 establish qualifications for church leadership.
- Ephesians 5:22–33 connects marriage with Christ’s relationship to the Church.
Taken together, these passages provide compelling theological grounds for monogamy as the normative Christian pattern.
The argument is cumulative, not dependent upon a single isolated proof-text.
11. African culture, polygamy and pastoral responsibility
As an African Christian and Anglican priest, I believe this subject requires cultural understanding as well as theological conviction.
Polygamy has existed within various African societies for generations.
In some communities, it was historically connected with inheritance, family responsibilities, agricultural labour, social status and economic structures.
Christian missions and indigenous churches have faced difficult questions concerning converts who entered Christianity while already living in polygamous households.
Should a man abandon additional wives?
What becomes of the women and children?
How should the Church uphold its teaching while protecting existing family obligations?
These are serious pastoral questions.
Different Christian traditions have adopted different approaches.
However, two principles should guide our thinking.
First: The Church must not automatically treat every cultural practice as biblically authorised.
Culture must be examined through Scripture.
Second: The Church must not pursue doctrinal consistency through cruelty towards women and children.
The pastoral care of existing polygamous families is not identical to the question of whether a serving Christian pastor should deliberately enter an additional marriage.
These questions require related but distinct responses.
Justice, dignity, family obligations and safeguarding must never be ignored.
12. My theological and pastoral position
Drawing upon 25 years of pastoral ministry, theological teaching and leadership, my conclusion is clear.
The Old Testament records and regulates polygamy, but the cumulative teaching of Jesus and his apostles provides compelling grounds for monogamy as the normative Christian standard, particularly for church leadership.
I do not believe the marital histories of Abraham, Jacob and David provide sufficient justification for a Christian pastor deliberately taking another wife.
Those histories must be interpreted within the wider biblical narrative.
Jesus returns us to creation.
Paul emphasises fidelity, self-control and exemplary household leadership.
The Church is called to reflect Christ’s holiness, truth and sacrificial love.
Furthermore, ordained ministry involves accountability.
A pastor is not merely a private individual exercising personal preference.
He is a teacher whose conduct can influence the beliefs and behaviour of those entrusted to his care.
James 3:1 reminds us of the seriousness of teaching responsibility.
The greater the spiritual influence, the greater the obligation to handle Scripture faithfully.
That is why Christian leaders must remain teachable. See You Can Be Anointed and Still Fail Through Ignorance.
13. The final question: Whose example are we following?
Abraham was a man of faith, but he was not sinless.
Jacob was central to Israel’s history, but he was not our ultimate moral standard.
David was an anointed king, but he committed serious sins.
Solomon possessed extraordinary wisdom, yet his marital decisions contributed to his spiritual decline.
Our ultimate standard is Jesus Christ.
Christianity is not about searching the Bible for personalities whose actions justify our preferences.
It is about submitting our lives to the lordship of Christ.
The question is not simply:
“Can I find someone in the Bible who did what I want to do?”
The more important question is:
“Does what I want to do faithfully reflect the teaching, character and lordship of Jesus Christ?”
That question applies to marriage, ministry, leadership, money, power and every other dimension of Christian living.
A practice can be recorded in Scripture without being recommended by Scripture.
A practice can be regulated under the old covenant without becoming the normative pattern for Christian leadership.
And a pastor’s personal conviction, however sincere, remains subject to biblical examination.
14. A question for Christian leaders and readers
If Abraham, Jacob and David practised plural marriage, but Jesus returned marriage to the creation pattern and Paul required a bishop to be the husband of one wife, which should govern the marital conduct of a Christian pastor today?
I welcome serious, respectful, biblically grounded contributions.
Let us examine Scripture rather than attack personalities.
Let us pursue truth with humility, conviction and love.
About the author
Apostle David B. Ogunseyin
Anglican Priest
Founder & Lead Pastor
Prophetic Voice Restoration Global (PVRG)
Restoring Lives • Rebuilding Hope • Reviving Destinies
Editorial note — 27 October 2026
This theological reflection responds to reports published on 26–27 October 2026 concerning Pastor Israel Ford of LifeWorks Church, Ohio, and the public introduction of Minister Shakayla Talley Ford as his second wife by his first wife, Lydia Ford.
The reported announcement and public statements have been covered by Christian and general news outlets. However, the legal status of the second union has not been independently established, and the pastor’s complete theological defence has not been reviewed for this article.
The article distinguishes reported facts from theological interpretation. It does not allege criminal conduct, coercion or misconduct beyond what has been established by reliable evidence.
Its purpose is biblical examination, pastoral education and responsible Christian discussion, not personal condemnation.
Sources and Further Reading
Contemporary reporting
1. The Roys Report, 26 October 2026: “Ohio pastor announces second wife, embraces polygamy.”
Primary biblical texts
Genesis 2:18–24; Genesis 16; Genesis 21; Genesis 29–30; Exodus 21:10; Deuteronomy 17:17; Deuteronomy 21:15–17; 1 Kings 11:1–8; Matthew 19:3–9; 1 Corinthians 7:2–5; Ephesians 5:22–33; 1 Timothy 3:1–7; Titus 1:5–9; James 3:1.
Bible quotations: King James Version.