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.
An Exposition Of The Seven Church Ages
CAB 4:E-2
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The unveiling of God
64-0614M §25
Notice, Jehovah of the Old Testament is Jesus of the New Testament. See? He's the same God, just changing his form. Now, someone said the other day, a Baptist minister out in Tucson, "How can you say that Jesus and God would be the same person?" I said, "Well, it's very easy if you just let your own thinking get away and think the Bible terms of it. They are the selfsame being. God is a Spirit; Jesus is the body that He was veiled in. See?" I said, "Like in my home. To my wife, I am her husband. And I have a young...
An Exposition Of The Seven Church Ages
CAB 1:E-77
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An Exposition Of The Seven Church Ages
CAB 1:E-50
Now that is the revelation: Jesus Christ is God. The Jehovah of the Old Testament is the Jesus of the New. No matter how hard you try, you can't prove there are THREE Gods. But it also takes a revelation by the Holy Spirit to make you understand the truth that He is One. It takes a revelation to see that the Jehovah of the Old Testament is the Jesus of the New. Satan crept into the church and blinded the people to this truth. And when they were blinded to it, it wasn't long until the Church of Rome stopped baptizin...
The Resurrection
53-1205 §27
Now, before God sends a message to the earth, God sends Angels sometime as message--messengers to the earth to bring His message. Do you believe in that? God has Angels. Now, sometime ago someone called my hand on that, and said, "Brother Branham," a great fundamental brother, he said, "there's only one flaw that I can find with your message to the people." And I said, "What's that my brother? If it's not Scriptural, then I will get rid of it and repent." He said, "Well, you're always referring to an Angel, and sai...