Q:   Can a man who had never previously been married but is married to a woman that has been scripturally divorced be a deacon?

A:   Yes, a man married to a previously scripturally divorced woman is qualified to serve as a deacon, at least in that regard. There is a point, however, that could be clarified regarding this. A study of divorce and remarriage (a subject extensively examined in our website) will bear out that there is only one condition for which a person may put away his spouse and marry another according to divine law. Please refer to Matt 19:9 and note that a man who has sound evidence that his wife committed fornication has the liberty to put away and divorce his wife and remarry another. (Incidentally, the same would apply if the genders were reversed; a wife could so put away her husband). Note that only the innocent party has the right to remarry without sin. The text affirms that if the guilty party would remarry, it would be the sin of adultery. The point to be made is that when a woman who is guilty of fornication is put away by her innocent husband, she is actually scripturally divorced. She can be forgiven of the sin of fornication through penitence and obedience and live as a faithful Christian, but she must remain unmarried. If a man would marry such a scripturally divorced woman who has no divine right to remarry, he and his new wife would be committing adultery, which would not only disqualify him for the deaconship but would also cause him to lose is soul if he remained in that condition. Perhaps this should be too obvious to state, but stranger things have been suggested (not that you're suggesting this).

We can take your question one step further. If the genders were reversed, the same would be true. Specifically, a man who had put away his former wife because of fornication and married another would be qualified in that regard to serve as a deacon. Please note the qualifications of a deacon concerning his marital relationship: 1 Tim 3:12, "Let deacons be the husbands of one wife..." 1 Tim 3:11, "Likewise their wives must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things." Admittedly, there has been some debate over whether "the husband of one wife" would preclude any previous wives lawfully put away or lost by death. However, no one would consider that a man at such a point would actually have multiple wives. In this writer's humble opinion, this is simply the way the Holy Spirit has chosen to say that he must be a lawfully married man with a faithful Christian wife in order to serve in the office. He cannot be a bachelor, a widower, or an adulterer.

We hope this is helpful. This does not cover everything regarding the qualifications of deacons, and it certainly doesn't near cover everything regarding divorce and remarriage. For additional information, please search our website or just ask. Thank you for your interest in Bible answers.