Reason # 15. A Failure to Rightly Understand the Progress and Focus of Biblical Revelation through Various Dispensational Ages:
Just like in a home where the Father will give different rules to his 7 year old than he does to the 17 year old so too God the Father does this with his creation. Some of his laws change and adjust as history unfolds and progresses. God himself in his character does not change as he is always holy and always love in both covenants periods. But how he expresses that holiness and love does progress from one age to another. Briefly for example, we can see some of this in the most basic change from the OC to the NC administration. In the OC the people of God had to bring animals to a priest to be sacrificed for the covering of their sins. But in the NC Christ is the ultimate and final sacrifice. People no longer have to bring animals to be sacrificed. When people fail to see God’s adjustments to his law code then people teach and apply the Bible inconsistently and even in some cases in such a way that it makes the Bible appear contradictory. Though God’s character never changes the way or specific law he uses to express his character in one age/dispensation/administration may differ from another era/dispensation/administration of history. And therefore when people discover this they often think that the doctrine of a man having more than one woman he is in a holy union with was just for the OC era but not for the NC era.
For those who realize or believe that we saints of this era live under a new covenant or a new law code there is sometimes a concern about does the law of Christ ever address the subject of polygyny. Even among those who believe in some way or another that the Mosaic Law still applies today directly they still struggle to find the doctrine of polygyny directly stated in the NT. That struggle has led some to believe the doctrine is taught more clearly in the OT than in the NT. This happens because of a cursory reading of the NT with a focus to find physical examples of polygyny, and when not finding specific examples of polygyny this has led many to fear and react in such a way that they have often reverted back to a Mosaic Law, or Old Testament, centered approach to living their faith even while being a saint in the new era within Christ's body. And for some it has even meant that reject the idea of polygyny as an option for a NC believer under the law of Christ.
Solution? To resolve this issue we must examine what changed from the OC to the NC specifically in regard to holy conjugal unions. What changed in regard to the OC to the NC was not that it was holy in the OC and now unholy in the NC but what changed was the focus or emphasis. A shift in focus from the Old Testament, which was very much physical oriented, to the New Testament where new elements become a dominant focus that take priority or center stage. A simple example of this could be seen in the life of Christ with his physical family. The physical family is no doubt important to Christ and to the apostolic revelation (1 Tim. 4:7), but Christ shifts into high gear so to speak by a new focus on the new spiritual family formed by the new dynamic, which is the unity that develops by the new bond in the Spirit of Christ. In Matthew 12:46-50 we discover a principle of extension being introduced into God's family structure. The people here, who were certainly familiar with the ideas of family by the implication of the question, thought that the physical family of Christ was to be the priority. But Christ introduced the idea that the spiritual family, those who were following the truth, were in reality his family. We do not see very much mentioned in the NC about any one's person's physical family. Why? Because the focus in this new dispensation changes from the physical focus of the OC to the new focus of the NC where it is no longer on Israel, the land, the temple, and things of the like but now it is on Christ Jesus as the Lord God who has come to redeem mankind from sin. The focus shifts from the earthly people to the heavenly person of Christ and then to his body who are his redeemed family members. The NT emphasis is now on the work of the Holy Spirit and upon the work of Christ in making disciples that come together to carry forth the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20). The NT focus becomes Christ and the patterns that he has set forth instead of the focus being on the ethnic nation Israel and the specific lives of those people in carrying out their daily lives in the land of Israel or outside of the land of Israel while in dispersion. The OT is more land centered and the NT is more Great Commission centered where the gospel is the priority and focus as it is carried out in the power of the Holy Spirit among the lives of the saints.
But does this then mean that the doctrine of OC polygyny disappears from the NC revelation? Not at all. To read the Bible correctly in this dispensation we must learn to read with the new set of glasses on. In the OC we read the Bible through a different focus. We basically read it over the shoulder of the Jew. But in the NC we read the Bible through the eye or lens of Christ Jesus who is our head by way of union to him through us being baptized into him through the Spirit (see 1 Cor. 12:13). The doctrine of family now is read through how Christ relates to his bride, i.e. his body. How he relates to his family is how a man is to relate to his family. Thus the central question becomes this: "Does Christ himself display a holy union to just one member or to more than one member?" We base our holy unions today on how Christ relates to his orderly or spiritual bride. If the Bible presents Christ as united to only one member then the NC presents monogamy. If it presents Christ united to multiple members then it presents polygyny. What is the answer? Christ builds his relationship with his people, his bride which is one family but composed of multiple individual units. The term bride is like the term God, it is a collective singular. Just as God is three in one so too the bride is multiples who one day will be one in perfect harmony just as the Triune God is three in oneness, perfect harmony.
Several NT texts speak of the multiplicity of churches in one geographical area. But in each city we see only one church per city or geographical area (Titus 1:5). This logic leads to the conclusion that there are multiple churches in union with Christ and he sees them each as distinct, autonomous units within his body, his family. 1 Corinthians says: "Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do." 2 Corinthians 8:1 "We want you to know brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia . . . ." Thus, this clearly means that God did not see all of the churches in Galatia or Macedonia as simply one church. If we use the law of literal hermeneutics had that been what God saw then he would have inspired Paul to say: ". . . as I directed the Church of Galatia" or the "Church of Macedonia." If in God's mind he saw all of the smaller bodies just being sub-level units of the larger church body then he would have spoke of the church in a single noun term, i.e. church. But instead God used the plural noun churches.
In the body of Christ there are distinct, multiple, members known as church bodies and these multiple bodies are all under the one Head Jesus Christ. They all compose one body, a family, but just like a family has multiple members in it so too does the body or family of Christ. Each church unit is a unit that is in a union with her head, the Lord Jesus. All of these units do not make up one church Body in the sense of those units being simple extensions of the head but they are individual units with distinct identities within the one family. Even when examining the body of one church we see it consists of not just "one member but of many" (1 Cor. 12:14). The whole body has distinct components or units in it. This is good. "If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body" (12:17-20).
Therefore, in application since we are to build our lives like Christ builds his relationships we can easily see that a man who is united to more than one member can still have one body or one family. He can, just like Christ and just like the Trinity, be one with each of those members as he is the head over each woman just as Christ is the head over each church. And consequently, he must work like Christ to make his family function in harmony in the same way that Christ as the shepherd of his family seeks to edify and motivate his multiple members of his family to work together in harmony and in one spirit and purpose for the Great Commission.
Just like in a home where the Father will give different rules to his 7 year old than he does to the 17 year old so too God the Father does this with his creation. Some of his laws change and adjust as history unfolds and progresses. God himself in his character does not change as he is always holy and always love in both covenants periods. But how he expresses that holiness and love does progress from one age to another. Briefly for example, we can see some of this in the most basic change from the OC to the NC administration. In the OC the people of God had to bring animals to a priest to be sacrificed for the covering of their sins. But in the NC Christ is the ultimate and final sacrifice. People no longer have to bring animals to be sacrificed. When people fail to see God’s adjustments to his law code then people teach and apply the Bible inconsistently and even in some cases in such a way that it makes the Bible appear contradictory. Though God’s character never changes the way or specific law he uses to express his character in one age/dispensation/administration may differ from another era/dispensation/administration of history. And therefore when people discover this they often think that the doctrine of a man having more than one woman he is in a holy union with was just for the OC era but not for the NC era.
For those who realize or believe that we saints of this era live under a new covenant or a new law code there is sometimes a concern about does the law of Christ ever address the subject of polygyny. Even among those who believe in some way or another that the Mosaic Law still applies today directly they still struggle to find the doctrine of polygyny directly stated in the NT. That struggle has led some to believe the doctrine is taught more clearly in the OT than in the NT. This happens because of a cursory reading of the NT with a focus to find physical examples of polygyny, and when not finding specific examples of polygyny this has led many to fear and react in such a way that they have often reverted back to a Mosaic Law, or Old Testament, centered approach to living their faith even while being a saint in the new era within Christ's body. And for some it has even meant that reject the idea of polygyny as an option for a NC believer under the law of Christ.
Solution? To resolve this issue we must examine what changed from the OC to the NC specifically in regard to holy conjugal unions. What changed in regard to the OC to the NC was not that it was holy in the OC and now unholy in the NC but what changed was the focus or emphasis. A shift in focus from the Old Testament, which was very much physical oriented, to the New Testament where new elements become a dominant focus that take priority or center stage. A simple example of this could be seen in the life of Christ with his physical family. The physical family is no doubt important to Christ and to the apostolic revelation (1 Tim. 4:7), but Christ shifts into high gear so to speak by a new focus on the new spiritual family formed by the new dynamic, which is the unity that develops by the new bond in the Spirit of Christ. In Matthew 12:46-50 we discover a principle of extension being introduced into God's family structure. The people here, who were certainly familiar with the ideas of family by the implication of the question, thought that the physical family of Christ was to be the priority. But Christ introduced the idea that the spiritual family, those who were following the truth, were in reality his family. We do not see very much mentioned in the NC about any one's person's physical family. Why? Because the focus in this new dispensation changes from the physical focus of the OC to the new focus of the NC where it is no longer on Israel, the land, the temple, and things of the like but now it is on Christ Jesus as the Lord God who has come to redeem mankind from sin. The focus shifts from the earthly people to the heavenly person of Christ and then to his body who are his redeemed family members. The NT emphasis is now on the work of the Holy Spirit and upon the work of Christ in making disciples that come together to carry forth the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20). The NT focus becomes Christ and the patterns that he has set forth instead of the focus being on the ethnic nation Israel and the specific lives of those people in carrying out their daily lives in the land of Israel or outside of the land of Israel while in dispersion. The OT is more land centered and the NT is more Great Commission centered where the gospel is the priority and focus as it is carried out in the power of the Holy Spirit among the lives of the saints.
But does this then mean that the doctrine of OC polygyny disappears from the NC revelation? Not at all. To read the Bible correctly in this dispensation we must learn to read with the new set of glasses on. In the OC we read the Bible through a different focus. We basically read it over the shoulder of the Jew. But in the NC we read the Bible through the eye or lens of Christ Jesus who is our head by way of union to him through us being baptized into him through the Spirit (see 1 Cor. 12:13). The doctrine of family now is read through how Christ relates to his bride, i.e. his body. How he relates to his family is how a man is to relate to his family. Thus the central question becomes this: "Does Christ himself display a holy union to just one member or to more than one member?" We base our holy unions today on how Christ relates to his orderly or spiritual bride. If the Bible presents Christ as united to only one member then the NC presents monogamy. If it presents Christ united to multiple members then it presents polygyny. What is the answer? Christ builds his relationship with his people, his bride which is one family but composed of multiple individual units. The term bride is like the term God, it is a collective singular. Just as God is three in one so too the bride is multiples who one day will be one in perfect harmony just as the Triune God is three in oneness, perfect harmony.
Several NT texts speak of the multiplicity of churches in one geographical area. But in each city we see only one church per city or geographical area (Titus 1:5). This logic leads to the conclusion that there are multiple churches in union with Christ and he sees them each as distinct, autonomous units within his body, his family. 1 Corinthians says: "Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do." 2 Corinthians 8:1 "We want you to know brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia . . . ." Thus, this clearly means that God did not see all of the churches in Galatia or Macedonia as simply one church. If we use the law of literal hermeneutics had that been what God saw then he would have inspired Paul to say: ". . . as I directed the Church of Galatia" or the "Church of Macedonia." If in God's mind he saw all of the smaller bodies just being sub-level units of the larger church body then he would have spoke of the church in a single noun term, i.e. church. But instead God used the plural noun churches.
In the body of Christ there are distinct, multiple, members known as church bodies and these multiple bodies are all under the one Head Jesus Christ. They all compose one body, a family, but just like a family has multiple members in it so too does the body or family of Christ. Each church unit is a unit that is in a union with her head, the Lord Jesus. All of these units do not make up one church Body in the sense of those units being simple extensions of the head but they are individual units with distinct identities within the one family. Even when examining the body of one church we see it consists of not just "one member but of many" (1 Cor. 12:14). The whole body has distinct components or units in it. This is good. "If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body" (12:17-20).
Therefore, in application since we are to build our lives like Christ builds his relationships we can easily see that a man who is united to more than one member can still have one body or one family. He can, just like Christ and just like the Trinity, be one with each of those members as he is the head over each woman just as Christ is the head over each church. And consequently, he must work like Christ to make his family function in harmony in the same way that Christ as the shepherd of his family seeks to edify and motivate his multiple members of his family to work together in harmony and in one spirit and purpose for the Great Commission.