@Modupe01, I posted without seeing yours.  God bless you.  You explained mine in a different way.

White84 you just got nearer the central message of christianity! If you could grasp this, I tell you you have understood what redemption is all about.

White84, that is what the christian story truly is!  You just hit it!  That is the goodnews!  That God became a man to save us!

You asked the right question: WHY did he do it?  Let me try and simplify it.  That is what John 3:16 explains!  LOVE is it.  The hallmark of Love is sacrifice.  God loves us so much he wont stop at nothing to save us, even if it means coming down to save us himself.  Remember, he didn't create us as sinners.  Man sinned, so it is man that must die as penalty for the sin.  Since God cannot die, He found a way of making sure that the penalty for sin is fully paid by man.  He decided to come down and be a man!!  Isn't that beautiful?

Jesus was that sacrifice.  Blood has to be spilled for sin to be fully paid for once and for all!  Man has tried to appease God by sacrificing animals and all that.  But no other blood could have paid for the penalty of sin- it has to be a sinless blood of a man.  And how could we have found a sinless man?  Impossible, since we all carried that sin trait.  It had to be a different genealogy- one without sin.  Here comes Jesus. . .

Hope it's making sense?

White84 I take it you neither read my post nor John 1 vs 1-14. Do read that passage in as many translations you want for clarity. It's very clear. Don't just assume you know what is there.

The Word became flesh to reconcile us back to God. He wasn't Jesus before He became incarnate. He was God. But he shed His glory and He was born as a human through Virgin Mary after the Holy Spirit (Spirit of God) came upon her, thereby fulfilling many prophecies ages before then. Then He was named Jesus because He came to save us. So while he was here as a man (in his humanity) he experienced pain etc just like every other human would. That didn't nullify who He was (and still is) ever before He was born as man!

Modupe01 I couldn't agree with you more!  You are right there.

Even in the time of Jesus, they took stones to stone him because they said he was making himself equal to God.  You see, they quite understood the import of His claims about His divinity.  Once they accept His divinity, they would be equally admitting his Godhead!

I really find it hard to believe anyone will doubt that Jesus is the very God after reading John 1: 1-14.  The Word that was in the beginning with God and was God Himself became a human being and they named Him Jesus and dwelt among us as human being.  He has been God and created all things by Himself ever before he became Jesus the man!  That was why he said he had been before Abraham (and even David as Abuzola kept hammering!) That he became the Son, didn't nullify his being the Eternal Word!

Oh, I guess people just won't read or they read and don't understand or simply refuse to believe what they read.

And the same Bible says wisdom is profitable to direct and that he who cannot provide for his family has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever!

Let's exercise caution the way we advise. I am still waiting on the OP to furnish us more on their situation so they can get counsel and apply wisdom.

While not intending to jump into this discourse on Trinity, may I simply correct an erroneous premise:

Law prince:

I still wonder and imagine how the Christians resolved at the solution of the concept of TRINITY.
Imagine: 1 God+1 God+1 God = 1 God,  OR 1+1+1=3. Ahhhh.  Even a Nursery school kid should be wiser than committing such fallacy.  I still can't imagine how they got the ABRACADABRA law of mathematics. CAN SOMEONE PLEASE EXPLAIN THE FORMULA TO US?
The earlier u realize u are not different from common PAGANS that worship more than one god, d better 4 u.
Wake up.

Modupe01 already gave an instance of how three 1's don't always have to be 3, using same law of mathematics:

Modupe01:

I also imagine why so called professors of false religion cannot get it into their heads that 1 x 1 x 1 = 1. Nursery school kids that go to Christian faith schools would surely figure this out, this is no "ABRACADABRA law of mathematics" only if you spent time studying real arithmetics or modern mathematics instead of studying arabic you would have been able to comprehend this simple "formula" Who is the PAGAN now?

Truth is, the two operations are not the same: while one is addition, the other is multiplication, still same mathematics (or arithmetics precisely).  I have not seen where the doctrine of Trinity is said to be based on the laws of addition!

Furthermore, to buttress the fact that 1+1+1 can actually be 1, look further than mere numeric addition.  In logic and computing (and electronics as well) two of the elementary operations of Boolean Algebra (Logical addition called OR and Logical multiplication, AND) also show how three 1's can be 1:

          1+1+1=1
          1x1x1=1

I dare anyone to dispute this.  You see, it all depends on the premise!

@izeek, I am married, 8+ years now!  I want to give her a good counsel based on experience.  I need to know more of the situation, that's why I asked what they do right now, especially the guy.  She mentioned they don't have stable income, but she can be more specific.  She wanted counsel, otherwise she wouldn't have come here.

Getting married and post-poning childbirth is easier said than done!  That is when you will see all sorts of pressure mounting up from either side, mothers-inlaw crying to have their grandkids, "prayer-warriors" binding and losing the "barrenness" etc

By the way, Bamboke who or what is putting pressure on you by giving you an ultimatum to get married in 5 months' time?

Hi my people.  Love and peace to you all.  I wish we can just do something: ignore all Abuzola's posts when you see them.  Just assume he didn't post anything and carry on with the thread.  Responding to his posts is achieving his aim, which is to derail the thread.

God bless.

@Bamboke,

I would have loved to give a similar story of someone very close to me but could you please elaborate more on what you do presently before I do that? Tell us exactly what you two do now, especially the guy.

Expecting. . .

@grace5

Hi beloved. Know that your posts are inspiring! I pray God gives you more of His grace. I asked a question earlier (before the editing by moderators), are those words of prophecies given spontaneously? I marvel at them.

Be blessed.

@OLAADEGBU

The Lord bless you richly for keeping the fire burning. May He increase you in all spheres. However I want to make a request of you. I read where some talked of making the posts more chatty so that people can actually have fellowship with one another knowing someone will respond instead of being detached most of the time. I commend you for your steadfastness in keeping the thread.

More grace.

@all,

Grace to everyone. Beloved, now is our slavation nearer then when we first believed. Keep the fire, spread the love.

Love y'all.

@Henrygirl

There is one thing I will counsel when your heart is overwhelmed- fall in love with Him all over again! And then let Him lead you to the rock that is higher than you. He yearns for lovers. His heart cries out for such relationship. Forget about yourself in His presence, focus on Him and His glory and let His glory overwhelm you.

I pray you come back to the very warm embrace of the Lover of your soul, completely abandoned in His embrace and love. May you find that comfort that comes only from Him. May He give you of the refreshing dews that come only from His presence and give you to drink of the rivers of joy that flow freely thereby. Amen.

Be blessed.

Hello my people. Where is everyone? I hope all has been well with everyone. Yours sincerely have been busy of recent which has limited my time considerably.

@OLAADEGBU and everyone who has kept the flag flying, the Lord bless you richly. I salute your tenacity and consistency. I only pray for grace, especially now, so that I can be more available.

Let me leave you all with this: Know that the battles of life are real! No champion is made without fighting battles. No winner is decorated without contests. No one graduates without passing tests and exams. The battles we face on a daily basis are necessary tests for our crowning. Yes, they seem overwhelming attimes. They may not be exactly comforting, but know this: they are real and inevitable. . . (to be continued)

Bless you all.

Hi Inspired. A colleague of mine is seriously interested in this ride. But what happened between 2005 and 2008? No report for that? Please provide it if you can. Consider as a serious buyer.

Happy New Year to you all in the name of the Lord. I welcome everyone into this year. It promises to be a year of grace and uncommon favour.

Whatever your unfulfilled wishes, dreams and aspirations were in 2008, it is time to gird up yourselves and proceed into this brand new year with renewed expectations of the faithfulness of God in your endeavours. God has not changed His mind, so you shouldn't! He is still God.

He told Joshua (Joshua 1 vs 1-9) when he won't quit mourning after the death of Moses to get up and come to the realisation that no matter how much he mourned for Moses, the truth was that Moses was dead. D-E-A-D!! G-O-N-E!!! Hear what the Lord said to Joshua and what He is still saying to you:

Joshua 1:
2 Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.

3 Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.

Folks, I have a word for you, 2008 is dead and buried. Gone forever. Get up, friend. Arise. Put your acts together. A new opportunity is here to right the wrongs, correct the mistakes, learn from the errors, build on the successes and push forward. I pray the Lord guide you in 2009. I pray He will show you a fresh dimension of relationship with Him. I pray He will become more real to you and show Himself faithful unto you in this 2009.

Congrats, for it's a new beginning. Welcome to a new YOU!

Daruche, JeSoul, thanks! May the God of heaven preserve you too.

If only we know the battles fought on our behalf by the host of heaven every passing moment! Come to think of it, my wife was praying early morning that day against death, accident and evil, saying a thousand may fall by her side, ten thousand by her right side, it shall not come near her and her family (From Psalm 91)! How prayer works! I pray the Lord keep everyone reading this and preserve you from all evil. Amen.

Beloved, make we hold this God weli weli! E too much!!

This is wishing everyone here the merriest of all Christmas. Christ is the reason for Christmas. Thank you all for making my online experience worth the while. May Christ continue to reign in our hearts as the King.

From the very bottom of my heart, I say the Lord bless you all. Have a wonderful time with your loved ones and families.

Merry Christmas!

Beloved, we are almost there!  The year is about rounding up.  And there is something about rounding up the year- The Lord crowns it (or rounds it up) with His goodness.  I thank God for all the testimonies to prove God is still crowning our year with His goodness in our lives.

Sing Halleluyah with me folks!  Just 2 days ago (Sunday) around 3.30pm, I heard the sound of gun very close to my apartment- not really sure where it came from.  The next thing was my wife who was lying down on the bed calling me to come that something sprayed on her.  On checking, I discovered a small hole on the ceiling and I knew it has to be bullet because of the sound I just heard.  Lo and behold, there was the bullet on the bed, not too far from where my wife laid.  The ceiling fragments sprayed on her (as the bullet entered from the roof!) but the bullet did not touch her!  I am keeping the bullet as a sign of God's steadfast love and faithfulness that did not allow me to mourn.

What shall I say to this God?  Papa, you too much!!!!

---

@FifiO, thank God for your testimony.  God is still in the business of watching His own.  Praise be to Him.

Please don't derail this thread further, Huxley. I pray God will show you His grace that brings salvation.

I'm off.

Huxley, I just went through that thread now and I can't see what I have not addressed as stated above in my posts. It will interest you to know that there are a lot of commandments, statutes, ordinances etc God gave (read Deuteronomy, Leviticus), but the 10 commandments are specific and unambiguous.  The Israelites preserved it in the Ark of the Covenant as written on the tablets of stone.

Please don't get confused.  Those chapters are very complimentary and not contradictory.  Approach the scriptures with a mind to learn, not to find fault and you will be surprised how easy understanding will come.  Huxley, I wish you are a Christian!

God bless.

Huxley, the very 1st verse of that chapter tells us what transpired at that mountain top. Moses had broken the 1st tablets and God told him to come up again so He can write the exact commandments like the former on the stones. The chapter did not outline what was written on the stones again because it simply refers to the original in Exodus 20. God gave further ordinances and statutes which they are to observe, but no one was in doubt what the 10 COMMANDMENTS were- exactly like the first in Exodus 20.

Please read Deuteronomy chapter 5 very well. Moses repeated the same in his address upon entering Canaan.

By the way, of what significance is it if it wasn't mentioned in Chapter 34 but was clearly stated in Exodus 20, Deuteronomy 5, Mark 10:19, Luke 18:20 etc as part of the 10 commandments? Do you have a new set of 10 comandments? Please tell us, what are they?

@OLAADEGBU, thanks and God bless. You gave a very apt and clear additional scripture. Not surprisingly, people (not referring to anyone in particular) will still find a reason to do whatever they want to do.

@earTHMama, you are right. In fact, there are a number of issues you won't find a direct scripture on, but on which the scriptures are clear about, only if one is willing and sincere to search.

The Lord bless us all as we mature in Him. Amen.

huxley:

There is no injunction against committing adultery in the TEN COMMANDMENTS. The words "TEN COMMANDMENTS" is used with reference to Exodus 34 and never in connection with Exodus 20. Further the commandments in Exodus 20 were replaced by those in Exodus 34, with does not bar adultery. Hope, you learnt something

Huxley!!!  You never cease to amaze me.  While I respect your rational and thought-provoking posts on nature and other topics, what I find amusing is the way you keep grabbing your Bible on religious posts (very strange for someone who is self-proclaimed atheist) and brandishing your 'discoveries', albeit lopsided, like Archimedes! 

Let me reiterate here loud and clear that the TEN COMMANDMENTS are as stated in Exodus 20.  The 7th bars adultery.  When Moses broke the first tablets of stone, the commandments were repeated in the 2nd tablets of stone exactly as the first:

Exodus 34
1 Now the LORD said to Moses, "Cut out for yourself two stone tablets like the former ones, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the former tablets which you shattered

God wrote the same 10 commandments on the tablets and still went further to give additional instructions and statutes for them to observe.  When they got to the promised land, Moses gave an address in Deuteronomy 5 and repeated the same 10 commandments as in Exodus 20 (and other statutes) to the whole gathering of Israel:

Deuteronomy 5:
1 Then Moses summoned all Israel and said to them: "Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the ordinances which I am speaking today in your hearing, that you may learn them and observe them carefully.  

Verses 6-21 contain the 10 commandments exactly as in Exodus 20.  See the verse 18 of it:

Deut 5: 18 'You shall not commit adultery'.

The same commandments are quoted variously all over the Bible (Old and New Testaments) by various people at various times spanning thousands of years.  The tablets of stone containing the commandments were kept inside the Ark of the Covenant (with other items) for remembrance of God's covenant with them.

Huxley, please be sure next time before exclaiming 'eureka'!

Neither do I like going round in circles. But I believe my point is made too. May the Lord give us understanding.

Thanks.

I still maintain there is no clear instruction in the bible that prohibits polygamy

If by 'clear instruction' you mean 'Thou shall not practise polygamy' then you won't, just the same way you won't find such on so many other doctrines directly, eg. trinity, rapture etc, using the same exact words.  But the principles and doctrines are so clear adding scriptures upon scriptures.  Moreover, we are discussing Christians and I am yet to see a single one example of an approved polygamist in the NT.

and the definition i gave for adultery is not my definition but the Original hebrew definition from the bible as opposed to the church definition which most people assume is the correct one

That is your own definition, definitely.  The bible did not give you that definition.  God said 'YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY'.  I asked you a question earlier on,  who was God addressing in that 7th commandment?  A man, woman or both?  Do you require a certain hebrew dictionary to understand that?

I never stated that polygamy is approved for christians neither am i trying to justify, defend or support it. But the truth must be told the bible does not forbid polygamy. And that is an undeniable fact. all the scripture you posted further goes to justify my point.

Then you have not been studying the complete Biblical teaching on the subject.  I will rather believe what my Lord revealed in His Word about it.  To avoid sexual immorality, let each man marry his own wife!  Not wives.  Husband of one wife!  Wife of one husband!  Whatever God has joined together, let no man (or woman) put asunder.  Polygamy is not for Christians.  It is contrary to the NT.

KunleOshob:

@Analytical
you still have been unable to state any scripture that categorically condenms polygamy or instructs christians not to involve in polygamy. I won't bother to analyse the twisted logic in your last post of trying to equate adultery to polygamy.

Kunle, you mean you actually refused to see it in all the scriptures.  You don't have to agree with me, you know.  But adultery is at the root of polygamy!  If you accept what adultery is, according to the scriptures and not your interpretation of it, then it becomes so easy to see that he who marries another woman apart from his first wife (that is polygamy) who is still alive commits adultery! That it is acceptable culturally and socially doesn't make it christian!

Please state where polygamy is approved for Christians.  You have not been able to put up a single scripture to justify your position.  Or did I miss it?

God bless you Jokepearl.  I couldn't agree more with you.

Emeka.Alloy, I believe judgement should be balanced with grace.  That was why even though God said Abraham should send away Hagar, Abraham still made provision for her and Ishmael.  God even promised her and the child too that He will take care of them.

I believe the man should present his first wife if he actually married her (not just impregnating her) as his true wife.  The other two women should be provided for and their kids.  They are the mothers of his children so it will be wicked to abandon them pennyless.  Even the law will be on their side for upkeep.  But as far as marriage is concerned, he should not relate with them sexually as wives.  They also don't have to live with him again.  They are free to marry their own husdands if they want to.  The man may establish businesses for them if he has the means.

What I find curious, however, is why the church accepted the last wife as his wife!  Is he saying he didn't originally marry any of them at all?

KunleOshob:

Please read your own posts again clearly a man commits adultery only when he is involved with a married woman. I know you would find it difficult to take away from your mind of what you have always believed to be true. But it is quite glaring that the term adultery is invoked only when a married woman is involved, if the woman is not married, it is not regarded as adultery even if the man involved is married.

KunleOshob!!!!!. I have a feeling you didn't bother to read those scriptures. Really, I don't know what we are debating here. A married person (man or woman) involved sexually with another person (married or not) has committed adultery. Likewise an unmarried person involved sexually with another person commits fornication. Both are sins. Don't tell me you mean the man in your example above is innocent!

Please, go over the texts again. If you put away your wife, that is divorce. If she marries anybody, she commits adultery. If you marry any other person too, you commit adultery. I didn't say that, Jesus did! He even took it further by saying even if you look lustfully on a woman (married or not) you commit adultery already in your heart! How else could this be more plain, except you chose not to believe it? This is why a polygamist is living in adultery! If you are already married and you go after someone else, it is adultery. Plain and simple.

God made man and made one woman from his ribs. He could have made many women from his ribs and presented them to Adam! But look at what He said:

Gen. 2:18 Then the LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him."

This is who a wife is- a helper, companion! Singular! Not helpers!! Look at it again in the words of Apostle Paul as inspired by the Holy Spirit:

1 Cor 7:2 But because of immoralities, each man is to have his own wife, and each woman is to have her own husband.

What more could be more specific than this, I ask KunleOshob? I asked you earlier on to give me a single, just one, example of a practising Christian in the NT who had more than one wife. You have not done that. Please do a study of the whole of chapter 7 of 1 Corinthians. It deals with the issue of marriage and sexual sins in the church.

KunleOshob:

@analytical
the example of bathsheba you gave is a very poor one. Are you aware that King Solomon is a product of Adultery commited by King David with Bathsheba whose husband David sent to the war front to die when Bathsheba was pregnant As i said earlier i am personally against polygamy, but i am yet to see where the bible forbids or condenms it in clear terms. Several great and blessed men of God in the bible were polygamist and God never condenmed, rebuke or punish them for this act. All the excuses you have been giving on the issue of polygamy don't hold any water and they lack substance.

I purposely gave the Bathsheba example. It is very apt here, seeing that she was involved in adultery and had firsthand experience of the evil of it and polygamy. She was instructing her son based on her experiences and how to avoid pitfalls of his father. It will interest you to read Proverbs 5 and see further instructions:

Prov 5:
15 Drink water from your own cistern
And fresh water from your own well.
16 Should your springs be dispersed abroad,
Streams of water in the streets?
17 Let them be yours alone
And not for strangers with you.
18 Let your fountain be blessed,
And rejoice in the wife of your youth.
19 As a loving hind and a graceful doe,
Let her breasts satisfy you at all times;
Be exhilarated always with her love.
20 For why should you, my son, be exhilarated with an adulteress
And embrace the bosom of a foreigner?
21 For the ways of a man are before the eyes of the LORD,
And He watches all his paths.
22 His own iniquities will capture the wicked,
And he will be held with the cords of his sin.
23 He will die for lack of instruction,
And in the greatness of his folly he will go astray.

Let me ask you- many great men of God couldn't discipline their children in the scriptures too. Should we assume we are to follow their examples? 'Excuses' you call them. Well, I don't. All I did was to quote the handwriting of God and the words of the Lord Himself.

I have shown you the original purpose of God for marriage. Sin enterred and the heart of man became desperately wicked and evil. Then they started multiplying wives and divorcing them. The Lord Jesus said because of the hardness of their hearts Moses permitted them to divorce (thereby going into polygamy). But Jesus said 'from the beginning, it was not so'!! The Lord Jesus, as the second and last Adam came and restored us back to the original purpose of God. If you believe in the Lord, then you will believe what He said as quoted severally above.

The Lord bless you.

One more thing- I forgot this:

KunleOshob:

@Analytical
Tanx for your response but i must still comment that you failed to state any where in the bible were it was expressly stated that a man should not marry more than one wife even when there are several examples of polygamist in the bible that were never condenmed by God. All your inferences can at best be said to imply a man is expected to marry one wife.

The truth is God will not overrule the human freewill.  But He will also not spare the consequences of wrong choices!  The scriptures are written for our examples and learning. We shouldn't repeat the mistakes of others. Show me one example of a polygamist that didn't have enough troubles to pay for going against the original design.  How else do you want God to show His disapproval against what he didn't intend in the beginning?  Also, show me a single case in the NT of a believer that is polygamous.

Do you know that Bathseba (she should know, if you ask me!) the mother of Solomon (also called Lemuel) gave him a good counsel about polygamy, which he didn't follow?

Proverbs 31
1 The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him.
2 What, my son? and what, the son of my womb? and what, the son of my vows?
3 Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings.

It's obvious Solomon didn't follow this counsel.  You know his conclusion at the end of his escapades?  'All is vanity'

A man is expected and designed to marry one wife.  If by precepts upon precepts this is implied in the scriptures, then a principle is formed.

There was never any such directive. Mind you i am not advocating polygamy, one woman is enough problem talkless of two or three i am just trying to be clear what the bible directs and not what men interprete the bible to mean.

Why trouble?  She should be your favour.  Two are better than one, also says the scriptures.

Pro[b]v 18:22[/b] Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD

Take care and God bless.

KunleOshob:

This is the meaning of Adultery from the original hebrew text as translated in Strong's bible concordance:

{5003} .a"n; — na'aph, naw-af'; a primitive root; to commit adultery;
figuratively, to apostatize: — adulterer(-ess), commit(-ing)
adultery, woman that breaketh wedlock.

Please note that from the original translation it was specifically directed at women

KunleOshob, how readest thou?  Let God be true and all men liars!  I use study materials too.  One must be able to rightly divide the word.  They are supposed to be study aids and not replacing the Divine Word of God.  If any commentary runs contrary to the Written Word, then The Word superceeds.

Going back to Strong's, I can't even see how what you quoted above speaks specifically at women alone!  if you check the definition very well the way it was written: adulterer(-ess).  This is giving the male and female use of the word- the female use being the (-ess) in braces, i.e adulteress.  In other words adulterer refers to a male and adulteress, a female.  So from that definition from Strong- it should simply be read as:

               adulterer commits adultery; adulteress is a woman that breaketh wedlock

Please, we should be careful how we interpret and use these aids.  God couldn't have been mincing words with that word 'adultery' when he penned the 7th commandment with His own finger on that table of stone in the wilderness in Exodus 20:14 (also in Deut 5:18)

Thou shalt not commit adultery.

He wasn't just referring to any gender.  'Thou', 'You'! Male or Female!!  In fact, let me add a few scriptures for better understanding:

Prov. 6:32 But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.

Matt 5:32 But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.

Luke 16:18 Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery.

Mark 10:11 And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her.

Matt 5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart

I won't stretch this if I were you.  You are simply misinterpreting Strong's definition.

God bless.

earTHMama, there is a good parallel between the life of Abraham (above) and your subject.  It's not easy to do, I must tell you.  It's one of those things I find very difficult to counsel.  I happened to be from a polygamous home (last wife) and wouldn't imagine what it will be for my mum to be put away.  That is me in my humanity.

If the man married his 1st wife legally or traditionally (not just impregnating her), then he should present her.  The other two are his burdens financially and upkeepwise, but not legally or sexually.  He should provide for them, but if they want to leave they are free to remarry.  That is the cross he has to bear for following Christ.  The children are his children, so he must take care of them in every way.  Whichever way, it will take grace to do.  This is my humble opinion.

But come to think of it, it seems the church was only interested in making him a recognised member (with whatever benefits that go with it like communion etc) and not establishing him in the faith.  I don't think a 'proper' full blown wedding is necessary- the man has been married.  They can arrange for what they call marriage 'blessing'.

Besides if you read your bible well from the original translations, you would know that adultery was essentially to do with married women. It only concerned men when a married woman was involved.

Does that mean when God said 'Thou shall not commit adultery' He had the women in mind, KunleOshob?  This is very laughable!

Also several Men close to God in the bible had more than one wife and there is no record of this practise being condenmed any were in the bible. Examples of such men are Abraham, Moses, King David, king Solomon and Job.

---

These are still not clear cut directives against polygamy as we know great men of God in the bible were involved in polygamy.

Like I said, people that practised it because of the hardness of their hearts and other reasons (Abraham-childlessness and Sarah's pressure, David-affluence, covetousness, Solomon-affluence, foolishness) paid for it with abysmal family lives.  Which one of these would you want your marriage to emulate?  We are all familiar with their troubles and travails.

Let's examine Abraham closely.  He actually made amends later for his own.  Nevertheless, he had to bear the burden throughout his generations!

Gen 16:
2 So Sarai said to Abram, “Now behold, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Please go in to my maid; perhaps I will obtain children through her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.
3 After Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Abram’s wife Sarai took Hagar the Egyptian, her maid, and gave her to her husband Abram as his wife. [/color]

Please follow closely:

-  This happened before Abram had his encounter with God (so to say, before his conversion!)

-  He listened to the voice of his wife, Sarai, and not to the voice of God

-  Hagai then became his wife.

[color=#000099]4 He went in to Hagar, and she conceived; and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her sight.
5 And Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done me be upon you. I gave my maid into your arms, but when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her sight. May the LORD judge between you and me.”
6 But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your maid is in your power; do to her what is good in your sight.” So Sarai treated her harshly, and she fled from her presence.

- Now trouble has started in this family! This is all too familiar in any polygamous home.  I grew up in one so I should know!

- Wife against wife (verse 4); wives against husband (verse 5) and husband against wives (verse 6), with divide and rule tactics that breeds disunity, separation, hatred, malice, unforgiveness and other vices!

7 Now the angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur.
8 He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where have you come from and where are you going?” And she said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.”
9 Then the angel of the LORD said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself to her authority.”

- Just notice how the angel of the LORD (giving a message from GOD) called her.  This is revealing!!  She was addressed as Sarai's maid and not Abram's wife!  The angel was speaking the mind of God, folks.  As far as God is concerned, she is not his wife but Sarai's maid. (verse 8 )

- And then verse 9, as 'your mistress' not to 'your husband'.  This is instructive.

Follow me to Genesis 17.  It was after these incidences that Abram met with God and see what God said:

1 Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him,
“I am God Almighty;
Walk before Me, and be blameless.

Does this not sound like those references in Timothy and Titus?  Then God went ahead to make a covenant with him, with blessings.  He changed his name to Abraham and his wife to Sarah.  He was concerned for Ishmael and God blessed the boy too, but Hagar was to be put away.  Abraham will take responsibility for his son Ishmael but God was specific on who He recognised as his wife- Sarah!

Gen 21
9 Now Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, mocking.
10 Therefore she said to Abraham, “Drive out this maid and her son, for the son of this maid shall not be an heir with my son Isaac.”
11 The matter distressed Abraham greatly because of his son.
12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not be distressed because of the lad and your maid; whatever Sarah tells you, listen to her, for through Isaac your descendants shall be named.
13 “And of the son of the maid I will make a nation also, because he is your descendant.”
14 So Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar, putting them on her shoulder, and gave her the boy, and sent her away. And she departed and wandered about in the wilderness of Beersheba.

Notice what God said to Abraham in verse 12 and how He also referred to Hagar!  As Abraham's maid, not wife!

So as not to bore us with this long story, I will leave it at that.  God never accepted Hagar as Abraham's wife!  He put her away, but that did not stop Abraham from taking care of the woman and taking responsibility for his son.  If you study that story very well, he made provision for Ishmael and his other sons from another woman (when Sarah died).

I guess we can draw a parallel between this story and the subject of this thread.

God bless y'all.