Can a divorced man serve as a pastor, elder, or deacon?

The question is: "What does the "husband of one wife" phrase in 1 Timothy 3:2 mean? Can a divorced man serve as a pastor, elder, or deacon?"

In the first-century polygamy was still practiced by many Jews in Israel and throughout the dispersion. When a man came to believe in the lord Jesus' message of salvation and was married to more than one wife, he was restricted from serving as a pastor/teacher or deacon. The reason being that in a domestic situation where there is more than one wife, there are problems that arise that would detract from the duties of a pastor/teacher or deacon.

In the beginning it was God's intention that a man leave his mother and father and join with one woman of his choice and raise a family [Genesis 2:24] Polygamy came afterward and was an accepted practice by many who were men of renown in God's service.

In the actual fact, there are no restrictions against polygamy in the scriptures, not even in the New Testament. There are no restrictions against slavery in the New Testament either as we see from the letter that Paul writes to Philemon about his slave Onesimus who had run away and found his way to be of great service to the apostle Paul.

Am I saying the believers to-day should practice polygamy or have a slave? No, absolutely not. The laws of most countries do not allow either. Yet there are some countries that do allow polygamy and if a man comes to believe in the lord Jesus with two wives is he supposed to put one of them away. The answer is no and we can use the Old Covenant for instructions on this.

As for a divorced man serving as a pastor/teacher or deacon, I see no problem with that as long as the wife that divorced him was an unbeliever and in such a case he is not bound as Paul says and can re-marry if he chooses to. I am talking about a man who was an unbeliever at the time of his divorce. When he comes to the lord Jesus all of his past sins are forgiven and he starts anew as a new creation in the lord Jesus. However, that being said there may be a continual price to pay for past sins, such as support for the divorced spouse and provision for any children, etc.