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.
Demonology, religious realm, part 2
53-0609A §43
Now you said, "Well, the prophets are the Old Testament." Oh, no! The New Testament had prophets. Agabus was a New Testament prophet. Look at the spirit of prophecy falling down there and telling Paul about them. Here come Agabus down from Jerusalem, and found Paul and tied his girdle around him, and turned over and said, "Thus saith the Lord, the man that wore this will be bound in chains when he gets to Jerusalem." Agabus, who stood up and told ... foretold what would take place, he was a prophet, not a man with...
An Ensign
53-0606 §2
[Break in tape.] ... many of you seen the Look Magazine, Life, and them carrying articles of how down in Yemen, and so forth. And they'd been bringing up thousands of Jews---going into the New Jerusalem, there, across Trans-Jordan. The Arabs have the Old Jerusalem, so in the New Jerusalem, they have brought in, literally, tens of thousands, millions, of Jews. See how the fig tree's putting forth its buds? Now, the Stockholm church sent a million Bibles down there---New Testaments---to give to those Jews. They never...
God commissioning Moses
53-0603 §8
Now, tonight, God is still God. Now, when God led the children of Israel out, He brought down an angel. God has always used angels in His work. There's never been an angel of God worshipped, for He wouldn't stand for it. A true angel of God doesn't stand to be worshipped. But God has had angels through every dispensation. Recently, a man that belongs to a fine, full Gospel church, said to me, "Brother Branham," said, "you keep speaking of an angel that visited you. I read your books, and so forth ... an angel." Sai...
Going beyond the camp
64-0719E §68
Jesus of the New Testament was Jehovah of the Old. Exactly right! I believe, as I was telling you here now, sometime ago or somewhere in a meeting; it might not have been here, Jehovah of the Old Testament is Jesus of the New. You remember the when I was going squirrel hunting that morning, and there it was, them three big stems run into one out there, right on the mountain, we standing there looking at it. And I drew up close and took off my hat, laid down my rifle. Got up there, and a voice shook the woods, said,...
I perceive You are a prophet
53-0614E §24
But when the gift of prophesy is operating, it cannot be received unless two or three judge it, to see whether it's right or not. But a prophet (singular, p-r-o-p-h-e-t) is born a prophet, comes up a prophet. Everything he says in the name of the Lord is absolutely truth, if he is prophesying. Now, you say, "That was for the Old Testament." Oh, no. They had prophets in the New Testament. Agabus and many of them were prophets in the New Testament. But now, it doesn't come by laying on of hands. If you lay on of hand...