In the New Testament, Is There a Requirement That a Minister of the 5 Fold Ministry Must Marry a Virgin?
1) Direct answer
No verse in the New Testament states in so many words that a fivefold minister “must marry a virgin.” But the Bible does set a holy line: a minister must be the husband of one wife, blameless, and he is not to take a divorced woman. By the Scriptural pattern of the priesthood, the clean, safe order for a minister is to take a wife in her virginity.
2) Scriptural explanation
- The fivefold ministry: “He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers” (Ephesians 4:11).
- Ministerial qualifications: “A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife… ruling his own house well” (1 Timothy 3:2–5; Titus 1:6–9).
- Our Lord’s marriage line: “Whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery” (Luke 16:18; see also Matthew 5:32; 19:9).
- The holiness pattern (type) for those who handle holy things: “He shall take a wife in her virginity… A widow, or a divorced woman, or profane, or an harlot, these shall he not take” (Leviticus 21:13–14).
- The church as a virgin to Christ: “I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:25–27).
3) Simple clarifying logic
- Now notice, the New Testament lists the qualifications for ministers and binds them to one wife, a clean testimony, and a well-ordered home. The Lord also forbids marrying a divorced woman.
- The Old Testament shows God’s mind about those who minister in holy things: the priest was to take a wife in her virginity. While that verse is in the Law, it reveals God’s pattern of holiness, and the New Testament minister stands as an example to the flock and a bearer of the Word. You see, if Christ’s Bride is to be a chaste virgin to the Word, the minister who represents that Word should keep that same clean line in his own home.
- Therefore, while the New Testament doesn’t phrase it as a direct command, the revealed order is: a minister should marry a virgin, and he must not marry a divorced woman, and he must be the husband of one wife, ruling his house well.
4) Reinforcing statement
This isn’t legalism; it’s guarding the ministry’s purity. If a man is already married when God calls him, “as the Lord hath called every one, so let him walk” (1 Corinthians 7:17). But for those yet to marry, the Scriptural pattern is clear: keep the line clean—one wife, not divorced, and, by the holiness pattern, a virgin.
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.
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...
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever
55-0603 §12
Now, we would have to go back then to the beginning of the New Testament. For they were called saints in the New Testament. And the first opening of the New Testament was John the Baptist. And he preached the message saying only this: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." So repentance would be part of the faith that was delivered to the saints. But John spoke, saying that there's coming One who will be the instructor. And when Jesus came to John after His baptism, then the disciples and all began to foll...
I will restore
54-0620A §17
And we seen this through the Old Testament, and the New Testament day, winding up, which everything in the Bible by numbers in perfection is three, like: Father, Son, Holy Spirit; justification, sanctification, baptism of the Holy Spirit; water, blood, Spirit, and all these things. Threes, sevens, twelves, twenty-fours, forties, and fifties is God's numbers. That you understand. Forty is temptations, and fifty is jubilee. And, oh, you understand those by your pastors. But now, if you'll notice, as they wind their w...
God hath a Provided Way
56-0108 §27
In the Old Testament, He was Jehovah-jireh, the Lord's provided sacrifice. He was Jehovah-rapha, the Lord that healeth thee. In the Old Testament, in His compound names He was the healer of Jehovah-rapha. In the New Testament He's Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever. The preparation. We could take it from both the Old and New Testament, pat them together. That's the reason, mostly, I got to the Old Testament to pick out a text, because I bring it over to the New Testament, and pull it together, and...
An Exposition Of The Seven Church Ages
CAB 2:E-13
The Sabbath, as we know it from the New Testament, is NOT the keeping of a certain day. We have no command whatsoever to keep Saturday for a Sabbath, nor do we have any commandment to keep the first day of the week, which is Sunday. Here is the truth of the Sabbath, which means "rest." Hebrews 4:8, "For if Jesus had given them rest (or rest day), then would He not afterward have spoken of another day. There remaineth therefore a rest (Sabbath keeping) to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he a...