If a Wife Was a Divorcee and Lied to a Brother About It and They Wedded and Already Have Children, What Should Be Done After the Brother Discovers?

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Answered by True Bible Teachings AI on 6/28/2026

1) Direct answer
It all turns on one fact: Is her first husband still living? If he is living, this union was never a lawful marriage before God and must cease; if he is not living, the present marriage stands and they must remain together, repent of the lie, and walk faithfully.

2) Scriptural explanation
- The Bible says a wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives; only death looses the bond (Romans 7:2–3; 1 Corinthians 7:39).
- Jesus said, “Whoever marries a woman put away from her husband commits adultery” (Luke 16:18; see also Matthew 5:32; Mark 10:11–12). So if she had a living covenant spouse, the later union is adultery, not a marriage God joined.
- If the first husband is dead, she is “at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 7:39). The deception is sin (Ephesians 4:25), but the marriage itself is valid and binding for life (Matthew 19:6).
- If separation becomes necessary in an unlawful union, Scripture requires sexual relations to cease and no remarriage while a living covenant spouse remains (1 Corinthians 7:10–11).
- Regardless of civil papers or past sins, we “remain in the calling” only if the union itself is lawful before God (1 Corinthians 7:17–24). God does not recognize what His Word forbids.
- Children must be cared for; a man must provide for his own (1 Timothy 5:8). The children are not at fault.

3) Simple clarifying logic
- God joins only what His Word permits. A civil document cannot make lawful what Scripture declares adultery.
- Therefore:
- If her first husband was alive when she married this brother, there was no valid marriage from the start. This is not a divorce; it is an annulment in truth—the recognition that no biblical marriage existed. They must cease marital relations and separate. He is not bound to her as a wife. He should repent and, after putting away the unlawful union, is free to marry “only in the Lord” in due season. She remains bound to her first husband as long as he lives; if reconciliation is possible lawfully, do so; if not, she must remain unmarried (1 Corinthians 7:10–11).
- If her first husband was already dead at the time of this wedding, the present marriage is valid. Do not separate. Confess the lie, seek forgiveness, and live together in holiness and truth for life (Ephesians 4:25; Matthew 19:6).
- If the first husband dies after this discovery while they were in an unlawful union, they must first cease the adulterous relationship, repent, and then—now that death has loosed the former bond—may lawfully enter a true marriage covenant going forward.

4) Final, unambiguous biblical conclusion
Now notice, the decisive question is whether a living covenant spouse exists. If her former husband is alive, this union was never a marriage and must be ended; if he is not alive, the marriage stands—repent of the deception and remain together in faithfulness, caring well for the children.