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.
Abraham
56-1208 §63
...elieve Jesus Christ will make you well? Let's see your hands. And you believe Him. Anywhere, I don't care where you are. Just believe it. All right. Now, while they're watching the line there to line up. I believe I called 15. All right. Was 15 my last number? All right. Now, see if they've got there, and then we will... All right. Look. If Jesus Christ has raised from the dead, the Bible said in Hebrews 13:8, let's quote it together: "Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever." Now, what was the sign th...
Where is He, King of the Jews?
58-1221M §87
Then if Jesus lives, and He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and if you have a need of any thing, the Scripture says... Now, not the Old Testament; the New Testament! The New Testament, the book of Hebrews, said, "Jesus Christ is a High Priest right now." Anyone knows what a high priest is? "A High Priest that can be touched by the feeling of our infirmities." A high priest is to make intercessions in the presence of God. Jesus stands as a High Priest, to make intercessions, and He can be touched with the...
Why cry? Speak!
59-1004E §33
Like the Jews today, Lewis Pethrus sent over a million Bibles to those Jews, New Testaments. They comes from down in the other parts of the world, they'd never heard of Jesus. Been down there for twenty-five hundred years. They begin to read that New Testament, and they said, "If this be the Messiah, we know the Messiah will be a God-prophet. If this is the Messiah, and He's not dead, but He's alive again, let us see Him do the sign of the prophet; we will believe Him. For our Messiah is a God-prophet."
Israel and the Church: Israel in Egypt
53-0325 §8
And I believe that all the Scripture teaches that all of the Old Testament was a shadow of the things to come. Therefore, if I am going towards that wall, and my shadow is there before me, it will declare something like I am when I come there. It would show whether I was a four-footed beast, or whether it was a fowl, or whatever it was; the shadow will declare it. And the Old Testament was a shadow, or a type, of the New Testament. All the Old Testament pointed to Calvary. I believe, by the help of the Holy Spirit,...
Earnestly contending for the faith once delivered
56-0419 §21
Now let's go back to the beginning and find out what kind of a faith the saints had. And then compare it with that, with what we're taught then we have some general conception. Then if we can find out what the faith was and that faith becomes a living article right here, not in 1956, but this night, here in Spindale, then it becomes the same faith that was back there, living, acting, everywhere like it was then, we'll really contend for it then, because the Scripture says. The first time we were called saints, of c...