The Husband of One Wife: “Enough Said” (Part 1)
John Mark Hicks (Pepperdine, Harbor Lectures, May 3, 2023)
Four Broad Approaches: A Matter of Hermeneutics
- Culturally Enmeshed: Bounded by Ancient Patriarchy.
- Culturally Accommodative: For the sake of the Gospel.
- Theological Inclusivism: New Creation Theology.
- Blueprint Exclusivism: Replication of the Text.
Theological Framework
- Men and women share the same human identity (image of God) and human vocation (Gen 1:26-27).
- The complementary differentiation of male and female enriches their shared vocation as priests and shepherds (co-rulers) within the creation (Gen 1:28).
- Both male and female acted foolishly and introduced moral chaos into God’s good creation, resulting, among other disorders, in male domination of females (Gen 3:16).
- God managed the redemptive economy of Israel within Ancient Near Eastern patrilineal culture while also signaling God was not bound by it (Miriam, Deborah, Huldah, Esther).
- God acted through the Son in the Spirit to form men and women into the image of Christ as co-heirs of the Abrahamic promise experienced through the transformative, empowering, and gifting presence of the Spirit (Gal 3:26-29; 1 Cor 11:2-16; 14:1-40).
- God gifts both men and women as co-workers in God’s mission through the ministry of new creation, embodying the present yet future reign of God (Rom 12:6-8; Eph 4:11-16).
Context of “Husband of One Wife”
Three Questions for Understanding the Framework of the List.
- What is the nature of this list? Ad Hoc
- What is the function of this list? Virtue List
- What is the structure of this list? Reputation Among Outsiders
Three Questions for Evaluating Translation and Understanding.
- Does it fit the function of the list?
- Is it coherent with the meaning of the feminine converse in 1 Timothy 5:9?
- Is it consistent with Pauline theology as a whole?
The Meaning of “Husband of One Wife” (One-Woman Man, Man of One Woman)
- Does this require marriage, excluding singles? – “the husband of one wife” (Tyndale, KJV, ASV, CEV, RSV, NASB, ESV). [This translation was rarely interpreted as excluding singles, but it is the translation that was used for that claim generally.]
- Does it prohibit second marriages of any sort? – “have only one wife” (NIV, 1984) or “husband of but one wife” (NCV, NIV-1984), GNB, or “married only once” (NRSV, NAB).
- Does it only require faithfulness to one’s present spouse?[1] – “faithful/committed/true to his wife,” (NIV [2011], NLT, CEV, CEB, NEB, CJB).
[1] Theodore of Mopsuestia, Theodore of Cyrrhus, David Lipscomb, Collins, Knight, Fee, Köstenberger, Marshall, Towner, Hutson, Keener, Courtney A. Bailey, Glosscock (BSac, 1983, 244-458) and Page (JSNT, 1993, 105-20].