In the New Testament, Is There a Requirement That a Minister of the 5 Fold Ministry Must Not Marry a Widow?
1) Direct Answer
No. The New Testament does not require that a minister—apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, or teacher—must not marry a widow.
2) Scriptural Explanation
- The Bible plainly allows a widow to remarry: “She is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 7:39).
- The qualifications for overseers/elders and deacons speak of character and order: “husband of one wife,” “blameless,” “ruling well his own house” (1 Timothy 3:2–5; Titus 1:6). There is no prohibition against marrying a widow.
- Younger widows are encouraged to marry (1 Timothy 5:14). If God allows widows to marry, the Scripture does not carve out an exception that forbids them from marrying a minister.
3) Simple Clarifying Logic
- If a widow may marry “in the Lord,” and ministers are believers in the Lord, then the marriage is permitted unless Scripture gives a specific exception—and it does not.
- Some point back to Old Testament priestly rules about not taking a widow. But that was for the Aaronic priesthood. Now notice: the priesthood has changed (Hebrews 7:12). We are under the New Covenant. The New Testament never places that Old Testament restriction on Christ’s ministers.
4) Reinforcing Statement
So, the Bible gives liberty here. The key is that the marriage be “in the Lord,” and that the minister remains blameless, faithful to one wife, and an example to the flock.
To get the full context and background as well as proper understanding, you MUST read the following answers also:
https://truebibleteachingsai.org/answers/in-the-new-testament-is-there-a-requirement-that-a-minister-of-the-5-f-11636dc
https://truebibleteachingsai.org/answers/in-the-new-testament-is-there-a-requirement-that-a-minister-of-the-5-f-a71db34
https://truebibleteachingsai.org/answers/if-a-minister-should-marry-a-virgin-then-what-was-the-blood-of-jesus-s-1d59d71
https://truebibleteachingsai.org/answers/if-a-minister-of-the-5-fold-ministry-can-marry-a-widow-the-widow-is-no-e5ccd10
https://truebibleteachingsai.org/answers/is-it-true-that-the-widow-of-a-minister-can-only-remarry-a-minister-9af3c0d
https://truebibleteachingsai.org/answers/in-one-of-your-replies-you-said-a-minister-should-marry-a-virgin-in-an-bdc33ea
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.
Behold, a Greater than Solomon is here
62-0721 §10
I stood in South Africa one afternoon, with between ... about ... around two hundred thousand people---a platform something similar to this built for a race track. They had to build it on the other side of the race track. Stood up there. No way of giving out prayer cards. There was just thousands times thousands. We had no one... I had some missionaries, "Go down and get one person out of your tribes that you're preaching to. They lined up a group of people. The first come across the platform was a Mohammedan woman...
Thou knowest all things
52-0716 §25
That's not Mr. Beeler, see? Yet, it got a whole lot like him, but it's not Mr. Beeler yet. I've got to find the man that suits that description just exactly like it. "There he is. See? There he is." Now, if we can see what Jesus was in the New Testament, then we will see what Jesus is working among us in the last days. Is that right? Now, not altogether Jesus working in me; He works in you just same as He works in me. Anybody that's born again ... I may be able to see visions, and you may not, but that doesn't mean...
Questions and Answers
54-0515 §105
Now to you dear people: I'm not hurting your feelings; I don't want to. I ask you to be humble and look at this thing in the face, and see what it looks like. Look at it in the face of the Bible, not in your church or some foolish, silly thing somebody's got puffed up in their head, but look at God's Word. Sure. Do you think that God Almighty would give me the ministry He's got around like this, with supernatural signs and things which has never been seen since the New Testament, and let me walk in error like that?...
Marriage and Divorce
65-0221M §105
Lord God, we give You thanks. We give You praise. Thou art the same great Jehovah that suffered Moses. Moses, that servant, what would he tell his people? And God, You suffered him to give a writing of divorcement. Paul, the great apostle who was the writer of the New Testament as Moses was of the Old... Moses wrote the Laws, and a dispensation of Laws. Many of the prophets, their words was injected into it, but Moses wrote the Laws. And You suffered him a writing---to write them a writing of divorcement because of...
Only one true living Church
51-0727 §27
Jesus, when He came, He said, He came to fulfill the Word of God. What's a prophet to say it? Amen. He came to fulfill the prophecy of the Old Testament. Do you believe it? Now the Holy Spirit is here to fulfill the prophesy of the New Testament. Do you believe it? Then let us be glad, for today is the great day of our Lord! Do not be weary, you who are sick and afflicted. Do not be weary, you who are down hearted. And you beloved ones who are sitting here in chairs and on stretchers and cots. According to medical...