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 §71
David, the king which represented Christ... (Hold that in your mind.) David represented Christ. Do you believe that? Christ is going to sit on his throne. And this David, a man after God's own heart, had five hundred wives. See what I mean? David with his five hundred wives, Solomon with his thousand; and Solomon is the son of David in the natural, which represents Jesus Christ, the Son of David in the spiritual. But that's natural sex life; this is going to be spiritual created life, created. That's the way it was...
Marriage and Divorce
65-0221M §75
Now, let us, in view of these vindicated truths of God, search a little further, if you want to. All right. Now, this may hurt just a little bit till we get down to the bottom of it. I'm just going to show you the truth of it. There is no minister that can marry a widow. Did you know that? You want to read that? All right, you get in Leviticus 21:7 and Ezekiel 44:22 and it will show you that the priesthood was not to marry a woman that's been touched by man. This type is of the virgin bride of Jesus Christ, because...
The invisible union of the Bride of Christ
65-1125 §39
I want to name three things here that she must not get away from. Now, I am speaking... Keep the Church in mind while I'm speaking this to the natural woman, as Paul is here in the seventh chapter of Romans. She has a sacred trust of virtue committed to her by her Lord---a certain virtue. Nothing else holds it but a woman. That is right. That is committed to her by God. She must not defile that virtue. If she even does something wrong, she must confess that to her husband before he takes her, and make it right. Jus...
The Seal of Antichrist
55-0311 §63
...ruth. And I want you to receive it in the same way of love. I have to be stern once in awhile. Yes, sir. And the woman had a dress on, and if I'd see my wife like that, I'd divorce her. And that's exactly the truth. I wouldn't... I'd put her away, out there like that, and paint all over her face, and I said, "Is she a Christian?" Oh, said, "She's a saint." I said, "She looks like a 'hain't' to me." That's right, to see something like that. I don't mean it joking. But that's the truth. A little old Jezebel, painted...
Marriage and Divorce
65-0221M §86
Notice, He can put her away, but she cannot put Him away. He did it, and proved it, in the days when Luther, Wesley, and in Pentecost, when they refused to become the further part of Him by having spiritual sexual affair to become pregnated with further part of the Word. You understand? She refused... The Lutheran church refused for Christ to have any more desire with her. Luther refused it. And let me say this (going to call me something anyhow), so is it today with every one of them! They fail to take that Word!...