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.
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52-0810A §30
Someone said, not long ago, said, "Brother Branham, you're mistaken about that Man that talks to you." Said, "That was the Lord. I said, "It was an Angel." He said, "I am sent from the presence of God." He wasn't the Lord. He was an Angel. "Oh," said, "that's all mistaken." Said, "Brother Branham, God in old times, in the Bible, spoke," said, "there was Daniel and all of them. Yeah, they were--had Angels and so forth, like that, but not New Testament doctrine." And this man was a man, said, "We speak where the Bibl...
The waters of separation
55-0606 §4
...I wish to read from the 5th chapter, a verse or two, and the 25th and 26th verses. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of the water by the word, "The washing of the water by the Word." The subject is: The Waters Of Separation. Going back into the Old Testament, where our brother just read the Scripture lesson tonight, to teach a little bit from the Word, the Lord willing. Now, tomorrow... The Old Testament:...
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65-1205 §34
look at St. Peter and judge him by Andrew. See, Andrew is that prayer warrior, just stayed on his knees all the time. And the apostle Peter was one of those fire brands that preached, and so forth. And Paul was more scholarly like, more of the ... like the prophet or something, and set back and... See, Moses wrote the first four books of the Old ... which he wrote the Old Testament. The rest of it was the laws, and Kings, and Psalms, and so forth, and what someone wrote of the prophets. But Moses wrote the laws, th...
Communion
65-1212 §6
We understand that St. Paul, who ordained it in the church, being the prophet of the New Testament... Peter, James, John, all of them, they wrote (Matthew, Mark, Luke) what Jesus did, as scribes. But Paul set the thing in order; he was the prophet of the New Testament. Just as Moses went into the wilderness to receive the inspiration to write the five books of ... the first five books of the Bible, well, Paul also went into the desert and received inspiration from God to set the New Testament church in order and ty...
The Calling of Abraham
55-1116 §8
Now, I'm going to try to go just quickly as I can, getting on the way now. And I thought maybe, tonight, we would run a little series of this subject, speaking out of the Old Testament. Last week, we've spoke now the eight nights on the New Testament, and tonight, I thought, we'd turn over in the Old Testament and speak a while. I love the Old Testament. Don't you? I'm kind of a typologist. The Old Testament is just full of nuggets, buried down in there. And I like to go prospecting, don't you? And dig out those nu...