Does God Permit Polygamy in the New Testament?
1) Direct Answer
No. In the New Testament God calls us back to His original order: one man and one woman. Polygamy is not permitted for believers.
2) Scriptural Explanation
- From the beginning: “They two shall be one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). Jesus restored that standard: “Have ye not read… they two shall be one flesh?… What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder” (Matthew 19:4–6; Mark 10:6–9). Notice He said “two,” not three or more.
- Moral order for believers: “Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband” (1 Corinthians 7:2). Singular on both sides.
- Marriage bond: “The woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth” (Romans 7:2–3). The passage assumes one husband, one wife.
- Example for the church: Overseers and deacons must be “the husband of one wife” (1 Timothy 3:2,12; Titus 1:6) This command suggests that there were people who came into Christ with multiple wives, however God sets the pattern in the leadership for the whole body. They could worship, but could not be leaders in the church.
- The type of Christ and the Church: “They two shall be one flesh… This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church” (Ephesians 5:31–32). One Christ, one Bride—monogamy is the God-given picture.
3) Simple Clarifying Logic
- Jesus did not point us to what was tolerated under Moses; He pointed us back to the beginning. What God joined as two becoming one flesh cannot be multiplied without breaking the very pattern.
- If polygamy were acceptable now, the “two shall be one flesh” and the Christ–Church type would be contradicted, and the New Testament commands in the singular would make no sense.
4) Reinforcing Statement
God may have “suffered” certain things in earlier times, but in Christ He restores the perfect will: one man, one woman, faithful for life.
Ask a Follow-up Question
What did the Laodicean Church Age (our age) Angel (- messenger) Say about this?
Ranked passages from the local William Branham sermon and Church Age Book database. Relevance is relative, not a statement of doctrinal certainty.
God's chosen place of worship
65-0220 §40
Now notice. Not one word of the shadows fail. Not one word ever failed of the shadow. Everything typed perfectly. He's God's chosen place of worship, and God's name is given to Him. He is God's place of worship, and God's name's given to Him. He is the Word of God, and He is the name of God. He's both the Word of God and the name of God. He was the Word made flesh. He was the Word of God, Lamb of God, name of God, and was God. That's what He was, the chosen and only place of worship to God. And God refuses any othe...
Marriage and Divorce
65-0221M §64
...ou can see today why people, they say I'm a woman hater. That's far from the truth. I do not. They call me a woman hater. Remember, they called Paul a woman hater. A woman minister, not long ago, said, "Oh, you're like old Paul; all he had to do is pick on us women!" A saint of God that was permitted to write the Bible, the New Testament, and dispute his words? He said, "If a angel from heaven teaches any other thing than this that I've said, let him be accursed"---let alone some woman preacher. They said Elijah wa...
An Exposition Of The Seven Church Ages
CAB 7:E-26
To begin with, we know for a certainty that these verses are not teaching a new and contrary doctrine to John 4:24a "God is A (one) Spirit." But this is like I Corinthians 12:8-11 wherein we find ONE Spirit manifesting Himself in NINE ways. Thus we know that the seven Spirits of God mean it is the one and same Spirit coming forth in a sevenfold way. Now in Revelation 4:5 these same seven Spirits are called 'lamps of fire burning' before the Lord. Since John always used nothing but Old Testament symbols in the Revel...
Questions and Answers
54-0515 §81
If Jesus told the disciples, "go do this," and they went and done something over here different, and yet God blessed it, and all through the Bible. Now, did they do what Jesus told them not to do? If they did, they disobeyed, and God will never honor disobedience. If He would, He would have honored Eve and stopped the whole thing in the beginning. When God says anything, He's got to keep His Word, He's sovereign. So then either Peter made a mistake... "Oh," said, "that's what the apostles said." One fellow said, "T...
An Exposition Of The Seven Church Ages
CAB 10:E-18
This second step was the doctrine of Balaam, (described in Revelation 2:14) wherein Balaam taught Balak to stumble the children of Israel by a 'united meeting.' There the guests would do two more things contrary to the Word of God. You will recall that Balak needed help to keep his kingdom. He called on the most dominant spiritual figure of his day, Balaam. Balaam gave the advice that trapped and destroyed Israel. It was, first of all, to suggest that they all get together and talk things over, and eat together and...