Can Christians Divorce?
1) Direct Answer
No. God’s will is one man and one woman for life. A Christian is not to divorce. If separation must occur, the believer is to remain unmarried or be reconciled. Remarriage while a living spouse remains is adultery.
2) Scriptural Explanation
- From the beginning: “They two shall be one flesh…what God hath joined together, let not man put asunder” (Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:4-6).
- God hates putting away (Malachi 2:16).
- Jesus restored the original standard: “Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so” (Matthew 19:8).
- The “exception” Jesus named is fornication (Matthew 19:9; 5:32). Now notice, Scripture itself shows what that means: Joseph “being a just man…was minded to put her away privily” when he thought Mary had been unclean before they came together (Matthew 1:18-19). That deals with discovering unchastity at the start of the union—not granting a license to dissolve a consummated marriage.
- After marriage is joined, Jesus said plainly: “Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery” (Mark 10:11-12; Luke 16:18).
- Paul confirms: “Let not the wife depart… but and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband” (1 Corinthians 7:10-11). A believer is “not under bondage” to force an unbelieving spouse to stay (1 Corinthians 7:15), yet this does not open the door to remarriage; he later says, “The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth” (1 Corinthians 7:39; Romans 7:2-3).
- Leadership standard: an overseer must be “the husband of one wife” (1 Timothy 3:2). That’s why men who came into the faith already with more than one wife were received as believers but not placed in church office.
3) Simple Clarifying Logic
- God joins; man must not tear apart what God joined.
- Moses permitted divorce because of hardness of heart; Jesus lifted it back to God’s first intent.
- If divorce were allowed for any later offense or convenience, Jesus would not have called remarriage “adultery,” nor would Paul have commanded separated believers to remain unmarried or be reconciled.
- If an unbeliever departs, the believer is called to peace; but Scripture still binds the marriage bond while the spouse lives.
4) Short Reinforcing Statement
Come as you are, repent of past wrongs, and walk clean from now on. Don’t break up more homes. If you’re already entangled, stay as you are and live faithfully to Christ; but do not seek remarriage while a living spouse remains. God honors His Word and heals where we submit to it.
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.
Marriage and Divorce
65-0221M §70
Now, you see, then after the beginning it was---something else was introduced. Now, this is going to shock you. (Are you tired? Just sit still just a little longer.) Then when the double covenant was made by man and woman through sex (another covenant altogether; not the original covenant, but another covenant), now what's introduced? Polygamy in all. Then after the beginning, polygamy was introduced both in man and in beast, after the beginning, the fall. God now secondarily sets a new nature again by sex. God cre...
But from the beginning it was not so
58-1002 §17
And today we got into traditions. Now, in our text we find tonight that they said, "Is it lawful for us to put away our wife for any cause?" Well, it's almost that way today. If they just don't want to live with their wife or husband, they just find some reason and put her away. Some preacher comes along or magistrate, marries them to another. See, it's a tradition. Well, they say, "Our church believes it this way." Well, it doesn't make so much difference to what our church says, it's what the Bible says about it...
The invisible union of the Bride of Christ
65-1125 §34
Now, She, as a woman, if She is married to Christ the Word, She cannot be married to a church denomination at the same time, for She is bound by it. She cannot live with both husbands at the same time. They are contrary one to the other. One is God-sent; the other one is man-made. So they are contrary. He said, "Let every man's word be a lie and Mine be the truth." God said that. Just as much contrary to one another as law was to grace, as Paul speaking of here. One must be dead to have the other. And if she tries...
Questions and Answers
59-0628E §108
A woman come not long ago, and she said, "Oh, I've confessed all that." She was nervous, and had a breakdown, and said, "I've confessed all that to God." I said, "You have to confess it to your husband. It wasn't God that you committed adultery against; it was your husband." That's right. And if a man marries a woman and she has lived unclean before she marries him, and then she comes to him, if they've been married ever so long, and then she comes to him and says, "Honey, I want to tell you something. I did run ou...
Questions and Answers, Part 2
64-0823E §41
QUESTION: Brother Branham, is it (Let's see.) ... for a person who has a---who has a living, divorced mate who remarry before coming into the message to minister? Well, in I Timothy 3:2, if you want to put that down, and Titus 1 to 6 (I wrote that one down), I want you to read that for this question. See? If a man desires the office of a bishop or a preacher (something another in church), he's got to have just one wife. That's right! A minister. Now, that's I Timothy 3:2, and Titus 1 to 6. Now, Titus 1 to 6, yeah!...