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.
An Exposition Of The Seven Church Ages
CAB 5:E-134
If we are going to understand what the doctrine of Balaam is in the New Testament church we had better go back and see what it was in the Old Testament church and apply it to that third age and then bring it up to the present.
An Exposition Of The Seven Church Ages
CAB 3:E-43
I think we ought to stop here and deal with the thought that God's people have always been and always will be persecuted. You know that Genesis is the book of beginnings, and what you find started there will carry right on through the Revelation and never change. There we see that Cain persecuted and killed Abel because the latter pleased God. Then we see a perfect picture in Abraham's son of the flesh, Ishmael, who teased and fought the son of promise, Isaac. And there was Esau, who hated Jacob and would have kill...
An Exposition Of The Seven Church Ages
CAB 10:E-18
This second step was the doctrine of Balaam, (described in Revelation 2:14) wherein Balaam taught Balak to stumble the children of Israel by a 'united meeting.' There the guests would do two more things contrary to the Word of God. You will recall that Balak needed help to keep his kingdom. He called on the most dominant spiritual figure of his day, Balaam. Balaam gave the advice that trapped and destroyed Israel. It was, first of all, to suggest that they all get together and talk things over, and eat together and...
The Masterpiece
64-0705 §67
Now, for nearly two thousand years God has been again making Him a masterpiece, because He struck at Him to get a piece off of Him, part of Him, a rib to make a wife for Him. And now, that perfect masterpiece that He struck at Calvary, He got a piece off of Him. It's just the New Testament, that's all. He fulfilled the Old Testament. Now, it's the New Testament, another piece to be fulfilled. See, the New and Old is husband and wife, see, and it taken the New to ... Old to foreshow the New. Christ come, the masterp...
About Jesus
55-0612 §30
Here not long ago, a man met me, he said, "Brother Branham, I've tried to search your ministry, your teaching, but there's only one thing,"---and this a full Gospel brother---he said, "there's only one thing that you make a mistake in." He said, "That is: talking about an Angel." Said, "That's God." He said, "There's no angels of the New Testament. Angels was of the Old Testament." Said, "Daniel had angels, and so forth, that followed him, and the old prophets and so forth. But in the New Testament, the Holy Spirit...