Under What Condition Does God Permit Divorce in the New Testament?
1) Direct answer
Only one condition: fornication. The Lord permits putting away “except it be for fornication.” Outside of that, from the beginning it was not so.
2) Scriptural explanation
- Jesus said, “Moses suffered you to put away… but from the beginning it was not so… whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery” (Matthew 19:8–9; see also Matthew 5:32).
- The Bible shows what that exception looks like: Joseph, being espoused to Mary and not yet come together, “was minded to put her away privily,” thinking she had been unchaste before they joined (Matthew 1:18–20). That’s the very setting—betrothal/at the start, before consummation.
- Once joined, the Word says a wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives (Romans 7:2–3). If she departs, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled; and the husband is not to put away his wife (1 Corinthians 7:10–11). If an unbeliever departs, the brother or sister is “not under bondage” to force the cohabitation, but this does not cancel the life‑bond (1 Corinthians 7:15 compared with 7:39).
3) Simple clarifying logic
- From the beginning God made them one flesh. You don’t break what God joined by later sin; you deal with it by repentance and forgiveness. That’s why Jesus did not say “except for adultery,” but “except for fornication”—uncleanness discovered at the start, which shows the union was not cleanly entered.
- So the only God‑given ground to put away is fornication discovered at the beginning. Otherwise, no divorce, and no remarriage while the spouse lives.
4) Reinforcing statement
Now notice, the Bible says it plainly. One exception—fornication at the start. Beyond that, remain as you are or be reconciled.
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 §95
Now, it's twelve o'clock, so I'll just omit something here for a few minutes. I want to ask you something. Now, remember, I say this to just my group only. And out in the air: I'm saying this to only my own followers; this message is only to them. And what I'm going to say here, any minister, that's his---he's the shepherd of the flock; let him do whatever he wants to. That's up to him and God. Any priest, any preacher, that's up to you, my brother. I'm only speaking here in Jeffersonville, the only place that I'd...
Balm in Gilead
59-1124 §23
Now, we take a grain of corn, put it in the ground. It may be a pretty grain of corn, all polished up, looks real nice. But as long as it remains in that condition, that's all it'll ever be: a pretty grain of corn. Sometimes we join church, lot of pretty things in it, and so forth. Maybe we try to pretty ourselves up to go to church, get a new something another to wear to church. Is that all church means to you? Then I'm persuaded you need a new birth. It's exactly right. That grain of corn will never produce any n...
The invasion of the United States
54-0509 §124
Shall we pray. Our kind Heavenly Father, as we view back this morning with our minds, back down yonder some hundreds of years ago, when there stood Jehoshaphat standing there by the side of King Ahab. And a little spirit down in his heart, still left of God, though he had made a mistake, told him, said, "This is wrong. This is wrong. It's not clean. It's not holy. The prophet has said these things couldn't go on like this." And the little fire of God woke him up. And then You had somebody to answer that little fire...
Marriage and Divorce
65-0221M §41
...Satan went? See? But still she has... She's the one that's got the power to say "yes" or "no." See? Depends on where she wants to hold herself. See? Now, here we can see plainly the serpent's seed, where it come in. There's only one place he could go to. If that wouldn't nail it down, somebody's blind. See, see? It had to go to that. Notice, the reason animals couldn't do it, a female animal, they were in the original creation, but the woman was not in that original creation. Now, we're going back to dig this up, a...
God's provided approach to divine fellowship
60-0630 §27
What if the little bride said, "Now, wait a minute. I--I--I just... I don't know... I don't know if married life consists of such things." She would never come into fellowship with her husband. She could never come into relationship or fellowship until she first comes into relationship. That's what's the matter with the church today, that say, "Oh, I don't believe in that there kind of religion that makes you shout and call it 'heartfelt religion,' and, I don't believe in such things as that." No wonder you've neve...