Paul and the Church as the 'New Temple'? - Holy Community and God's Presence

The scent of incense and burnt offerings, the voices of pilgrims and merchants: ancient temples were vibrant microcosms of life. How could a deity dwell in a temple and on a sacred mountain? Why were there multiple Jewish temples? Where does Paul warn of impending 'temple destruction'? In this post, Dr. Nicole Oesterreich takes us on a journey through time. This article is based on a lecture given at the Worthaus 13 conference in Tübingen during Pentecost 2025.

Introduction: Life in the Diaspora in the 1st Century

During Paul's lifetime in the 1st century CE, the majority of Jewish people didn't live in their ancestral homeland, but were scattered across many locations throughout the Roman Empire and in territories to the east. We find traces of their presence primarily in smaller and larger cities. In Alexandria, Egypt, Jews made up about one-third of the urban population until the pogrom of 38 CE.

They belonged to vastly different social classes and pursued various professions. Some even managed to reach prestigious social circles. The Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria, for instance, belonged to the urban elite. His brother served as a financial official in Alexandria, was friends with Herod the Great, and supported Herod's son and successor, Herod Agrippa. Philo's nephew, Tiberius Julius Alexander, rose to high positions in Roman government service: he became prefect of Egypt and eventually led part of the Roman army against Jerusalem. These are certainly exceptional cases, but they demonstrate that Jewish people of this era—whether living in the diaspora or in their homeland—participated in Greco-Roman culture.

The vast majority of diaspora Jews spoke Greek as their native language. They likely also spoke the regional languages of their areas to varying degrees. We don't know how many people could still speak Hebrew at that time. Among the Jewish authors whose works survive today, most used the Greek translation of the Old Testament—the Septuagint.

There wasn't one monolithic 'Judaism' as we might initially imagine. Numerous expressions of Jewish faith existed side by side. From Josephus's testimony, we know of at least seven different groups: the Samaritans with their own temple, synagogues, and Torah; the Sadducees; the Pharisees; the Essenes; the Zealots; and the so-called 'Pious Ones.' Add to these those who didn't identify with any of these groups—they practiced their faith and lived their lives as they had learned from their parents and grandparents, and as was possible in their particular location.

What united all these people was their relationship to their primary God, YHWH. However, where sacrifices should be offered to him was a point of contention between the various Jewish groups. Most lived far from any temple dedicated to YHWH. As a result, they developed different ways of dealing with this situation, along with theological reflections on God's presence apart from a temple.

Paul and his communities operated within this Jewish context, even though many of his community members came from non-Jewish backgrounds (1 Cor 12:2). According to Acts, Paul initially preached in synagogues and found recipients for his message primarily among proselytes and God-fearers. The former had converted to Judaism through circumcision or an equivalent ritual, while the latter were perhaps on their way to conversion but hadn't taken the final step. Perhaps they were simply interested in Judaism. But even among people who may have joined the community only as believers in Christ, Paul assumes considerable knowledge of Israel's scriptures and Jewish rituals. We can therefore assume that forms of knowledge transmission existed within these communities.

The Earthly Temple(s)

Anyone who has ever wandered through ancient ruins has surely noticed one thing: temples stood on practically every corner. They defined the landscape of an ancient city. The temples were sumptuously adorned—reflecting not only the wealth of the city and its cult, but also the power of the associated deity.

What Actually Happens in a Temple?

In ancient thinking, the temple was the place where a deity was present. This presence was made visible through a cult image or other cult object—for example, stone stelae. At the same time, people always understood that the deity actually resided elsewhere, perhaps on a high, mystical mountain (like Mount Olympus) or in the heavens. The deity could, if it chose, pay humans a visit and then 'dwell' in the cult object within its temple. You could also entice the deity or request its presence. Fragrances were one way to do this—people hoped to attract gods and goddesses with the heavenward-rising scent of sacrificial smoke. Other deities preferred incense or other plant-based aromas.

In Greece, Egypt, and the ancient Near East, divine statues were regularly washed, anointed, clothed, and adorned—because a deity's indwelling required special conditions. No deity would deign to enter a dilapidated temple with a neglected divine image. That would put them in worse conditions than rulers in their palaces! No ruler could afford to have an angry deity stop visiting, since divine wrath could lead to catastrophes or attacks by hostile powers. If you wanted to rule for long, you had better take care of temples and divine images. Rulers did exactly that—and often not just for their own deities, but also for those in their conquered territories. After all, you never know whether the god responsible for that land might otherwise turn against you.

Through sacrifices, people didn't just win a deity's favor for themselves or their region by showing respect and taking the deity's needs seriously. They could also express gratitude—for the birth of children, a rich harvest, healing, a victorious war—since they were always aware that their fate depended on the gods. People make mistakes, consciously or unconsciously, and these could be remedied through sacrifices. In Israel, this is why once a year on the Day of Atonement, various rituals were performed to request forgiveness of sins for the entire people. Part of this elaborate ritual involving sacrificial acts was sending a scapegoat into the wilderness.

Anyone wanting to visit a temple understood they were about to encounter a ruler over the world and fate itself. To avoid angering the deity and incurring divine wrath, precautions were necessary: people washed themselves, dressed specially, avoided certain foods because of potential odors, and temporarily abstained from intimate contact. Throughout the ancient world, people needed this state of ritual purity when in the presence of a deity.

Not every divine image could be visited personally. Perhaps a deity would appear occasionally during processions. Otherwise, there was a sacrificial altar on the temple grounds where most ritual activities took place. Believers could participate as observers. All ancient temples featured various sacrifices for different occasions. Typically, animals were slaughtered, blood was offered, and the meat was divided between priests and worshippers and consumed. Leftovers were sold at the meat market. Beyond sacrificial rituals, people communicated with deities through prayers, both publicly and privately. Pilgrimage festivals featured musical processions and communal meals. Some temples also conducted religious legal proceedings. We know that teaching took place at the Jerusalem Temple as well. Finally, around some Greek temples, myths connected to the deity were performed or reenacted. Ancient and modern religious practices aren't as foreign to each other as we might initially think—consider processions, special clothing, rituals involving concepts of purity, seating and entry regulations, communal meals, and so on.

Ancient temples, especially in trading cities, served not only for worship but also for the exchange of goods and connecting people of the same religion from different regions. They were network hubs. Temples in capital cities were often maintained by the respective rulers, where royal sacrifices were offered and annual pilgrimage festivals were celebrated in the ruler's name.

Around temples, you could buy sacrificial animals and exchange money if you came from another region or were traveling elsewhere. Sometimes you could also purchase votive offerings (though not in Jerusalem). These were small plaques with inscriptions or depictions of specific body parts, which people could use to give thanks for healing, for example.

Unlike today's churches, ancient temples weren't places of quiet contemplation and meditation, but offered rich sensory experiences. Beyond the temple architecture that met the eye, you heard the cries of sacrificial animals, conversations between merchants and pilgrims in various languages, and horns or wind instruments played for different occasions. You smelled the blood of slaughtered animals or the aroma of cooked or burning meat, along with incense and other fragrances from the altars inside the temple.

The Temple in Jerusalem

Until its destruction, visitors to Herod's Temple in Jerusalem could admire one of the largest and most beautiful temples in the Roman Empire. It was the hub for Jewish people from across the ancient world who came to Jerusalem for pilgrimages, festivals, or to conduct trade.

Whether Solomon's Temple existed in the form described in the Bible is increasingly doubted by scholars. It's only known from biblical sources that can't be verified archaeologically. The Second Temple was dedicated in 515 BCE. Herod the Great rebuilt it in the 1st century BCE, creating a temple that rivaled a wonder of the world. It now included various courtyards with graduated levels of holiness. The first courtyard could even be entered by non-Jewish people. The next courtyards were accessible to ritually qualified Israelite men and women, separated by gender. Some areas, especially the Holy of Holies, were restricted to priests only.

All of this had to be paid for. According to consistent reports from Philo and Josephus, it was customary throughout the diaspora for Jewish men over 20 to pay at least half a shekel (or two drachmas) annually to the Temple. This money was regarded as a 'first fruits offering.' It was collected in synagogues, perhaps also brought from smaller places to larger centers, from where it was sent to Jerusalem once a year, presumably with pilgrimage groups.

This money was primarily used for Temple sacrifices. Through this system, Jews living in the diaspora as well as those in the homeland outside Jerusalem could participate in the sacrificial cult until the Temple's destruction in 70 CE. While pilgrimages to the Jerusalem Temple were intended for all Jews living outside the city, they weren't feasible for most diaspora residents (cf. Tob 1:6).

Other Temples?

Early YHWH Temples

Before the Temple in Jerusalem developed into the central sanctuary, there were numerous YHWH temples in Palestine. We know from the Bible and excavations, for example, about the Samaritan temple on Mount Gerizim, which existed from the mid-5th century until around 111 BCE. A YHWH temple was discovered at Tel Arad that was used between the 10th and 8th centuries BCE. An altar found at Tel Dan continued to be used into Roman times.

The Temple at Elephantine

In the military colony on the southern Egyptian Nile island of Elephantine lived people who worshipped JHW [Yahu]. A temple to JHW is attested both archaeologically and from papyri found at the beginning of the 20th century, dating to around 400 BCE. More remarkably still: despite the cult centralization in Jerusalem, other gods were also worshipped there. However, this temple no longer existed by the beginning of the Hellenistic period—it was built over with an Egyptian temple.

Leontopolis

At Tell el-Yahudiya near Cairo, Egypt, a Jewish temple was excavated in the 19th century that Josephus also describes in his work "The Jewish War" (Bell. 7:426-429). This temple was built by the son and rightful heir of Jerusalem's high priest Onias III, who was also named Onias (making him Onias IV). He had fled Jerusalem during the unrest on the eve of the Maccabean revolt (2nd century BCE). Did Onias IV deliberately oppose cult centralization, or had cult centralization perhaps not yet been fully established at this time?

Khirbet Qumran?

In excavations of the settlement near the caves where the famous scrolls were found, archaeologists discovered a large quantity of animal bones that weren't simply discarded but appear to have been ritually deposited. Various researchers have recently questioned whether these bones—which don't form complete skeletons—are remnants of YHWH sacrifices followed by ritual meals at this site.

This doesn't necessarily mean there was a temple at this site. It appears this alternative form of conservative Jewish religion, which had distanced itself from the Jerusalem Temple in certain ways, understood itself as living in a condition corresponding to that of the people of Israel during their wilderness wandering: in special proximity to God, therefore subject to special purity requirements (see below), and perhaps offering the sacrifices prescribed in Leviticus.

Corrupt Personnel?

Since the end of the monarchy in Judah and Israel, the high priesthood had been closely tied to political duties. It therefore became the target of certain ambitions and a pawn between various powers. Both the Greeks and Romans pursued a relatively liberal religious policy. However, local rulers had to be loyal and had to pay sufficient taxes and tributes.

The Hellenization of the region following the Macedonian conquest created potential for conflict. As centuries before, people in Palestine found themselves living between two major spheres of influence: Ptolemaic Egypt on one side, and the Seleucids on the other, who ruled Syria, Mesopotamia, and parts of Asia Minor. Which side of power the high priests chose had consequences for the entire country and repeatedly led to uprisings and countermeasures by the rulers.

Summary

Not only in early times, but even shortly before Paul's lifetime, there were multiple YHWH temples. They had been founded due to particular power dynamics or criticism of the Jerusalem cult operations. However, they posed no real competition to Jerusalem. Thus, in the 1st century CE, the Herodian Temple on Mount Zion in Jerusalem was the sole reference point for Jewish sacrificial worship—a completely different situation from almost all non-Jewish cults of antiquity.

Most Jews lived in the diaspora. Far from the central sanctuary, they had to find other ways to shape their religious life according to their needs and local conditions. The Temple played a major role in most cases, even when it often couldn't be physically visited.

The Theological Significance of the Temple in Ancient Judaism

Theological interpretations were added to the ritual practices in the Jerusalem Temple. While in the early phase the temple was actually understood as the deity's dwelling place, this concept evolved toward the fundamental location of God in the heavens (e.g., 1 Kings 8:30). The temple as an earthly building came to be understood as God's throne (e.g., Ps 10:4 LXX; 103:19) or simply as his footstool. This is particularly striking in Isaiah's vision in the temple (Isa 6). According to the Hebrew Bible, the prophet sees the hem of God's robe filling the temple. The ancient Greek translation, the Septuagint, avoids such anthropomorphisms and speaks only of God's glory being in the temple (Ezek 43:5). In other passages, only God's name is mentioned.

The idea that God sits enthroned like a king in heaven requires a royal court and something like a heavenly palace or temple. In various accounts, visionaries visit the heavenly temple and describe it. The most famous text for this is the Revelation of John (Rev 4), but there are older reports such as Isa 6:6, Hab 2:20, Zech 2:13, and the Book of the Watchers in 1 Enoch. The latter may date to the 3rd century BCE. In chapters 12-14, it tells how Enoch sees in heaven a temple of ice and hail, and another, living temple of fire. This temple theology views the earthly temple as abandoned, cold, and deficient because it is made with hands. The heavenly temple, by contrast, is God's house and more magnificent than anything that could be built on earth. In the Testament of Levi, Levi also visits the heavenly temple and sees the throne (TestLevi 5:1). The Aramaic version of this may date to the 2nd century BCE.

Not only the temple itself, but also its location holds significance in early Jewish texts: Drawing on the ancient Near Eastern concept of the cosmic mountain (Jub 8:19) that connects heaven and earth and is the center of the world, Zion also functions as such a connecting mountain. Beyond its real existence as a hill, it has a transcendent existence as a high, solitary mountain (Ezek 20:40; Ps 68:30; 78:69). Thus it becomes God's throne. The Book of Jubilees, a retelling of Hebrew Bible texts from the mid-2nd century BCE, connects the mountain with the Garden of Eden and the concept of the temple's Holy of Holies (3:12). A similar connection, without explicitly mentioning the temple, is found in the Book of the Watchers in 1 Enoch. Parts of both books were found at Qumran, proving they were still being read intensively in the 1st century CE.

In the later writings of the LXX—that is, writings mainly composed by and for people in the diaspora—the temple is developed into a place of hope. Here and in other writings, we read about how at the end of times, all those scattered in the diaspora will be gathered at a new temple where God will then dwell permanently among the people (Jub 1:17; 1 En 90:29f.; 91:13; Tob 14:5; Sib 3:290; CD 3:19-4:4; 11QTemple 29:8-10; 4Q174 3:2-6,9). Sometimes non-Jews who join the people of Israel are explicitly included (Isa 56:6-8; Zech 8:20-23; 1 En 90:31). Even those who were usually not ritually qualified—such as so-called eunuchs (Deut 23:2) or those suffering from certain skin diseases—were to receive participation in the temple (Isa 56:4f; Wis 3:14).

Diaspora residents still had the need to express their God's presence in images and words. After all, a God who ruled the world couldn't be present only in Jerusalem. Three images became particularly important for this: dwelling among the Israelites, water, and wisdom. Often we find combinations of these as well.

The concept of dwelling among the Israelites was cast into narrative in the Exodus story. God is always with the Israelites there, accompanying them day and night in the form of an angel or cloud. In the tent of meeting, there's a place where he can settle among them. But God's speech in Ezek 43:7-9 also tells of this. God says to Ezekiel: 'I will dwell in your midst' (LXX: 'My name will dwell in your midst'). The connection to the temple is implicit. 'In your midst' means: the temple or Zion is and remains the center. The prophet Haggai (2:5) connects this idea of God being among the Israelites with God's spirit. He has God say: 'My spirit stands in your midst.' The psalmist in Psalm 139:7 formulates similarly: 'Where could I go away from your spirit, and where could I flee away from your presence?' Ps 51:13 pleads: 'Do not cast me from your presence, do not take your holy spirit away from me.'

The image of water also places the temple at its center. Many ancient temples had water sources. Temples were often built so that water was available on-site for purification rituals and the needs of temple personnel. In the ancient Near East, these springs were already charged with meaning, as they distributed the life-giving power of the deity into the temple's surrounding area, ensuring rich harvests. This concept was then transferred to the idea that the major rivers of these regions—the Euphrates, Tigris, and Nile, for example—flow from the heavenly temple or garden of life (1 En 77).

The third image operates with the concept of personified wisdom. The apocryphal book 'Wisdom of Solomon' (2nd/1st century BCE) deals with this theme and is also important for understanding Paul. Wisdom is brought very close to God's spirit there. The gift of wisdom is necessary to understand God's ways and his commandments. Those who have wisdom and study Israel's scriptures cannot go astray. Wisdom comes directly from God. It proceeds from his throne (here we can hear the connection to the temple!). It too dwells among the Israelites. It has settled on Zion and among the people of Israel (cf. Sir 24:10-12) as well as within individual people.

Finally, the destruction of a temple held special significance for both non-Jewish and Jewish antiquity. It demonstrated power over a conquered people. When Solomon's temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, an explanation had to be found. How could it be that the almighty God allowed his earthly dwelling to be destroyed? One solution: God had departed from the temple because of the sins of either the temple personnel or the entire people. In the dramatic narrative of Ezek 10, the glory of the Lord leaves the temple on the eerie chariot of the cherubim.

Summary

In early Judaism, the temple was the place of God's presence and the connection to God's heavenly dwelling. Being present at this location required a special state of ritual purity. It was the place of sacrificial worship and thus also of atonement for committed sins. It was a place of encounter. The temple was also the central element of eschatological hope: here Israel would eventually gather, and in some conceptions even the nations, to live with God.

Synagogues

Long before the Christ-believers, Jewish people living far from home formed communities where they primarily handled legal matters: disputes, marriages, divorces, wills, loans, and so on. These were simply called 'assemblies'—'synagogue' in Greek. Wealthy communities built houses or converted existing buildings for their purposes. In Egypt, these buildings were called 'prayer houses'—'proseuche' in Greek—probably simply because non-Jewish associations in Egypt were called 'synagogue.' Little is known about religious life in synagogues during the time when the Jerusalem Temple still stood. Only the so-called Theodotos inscription (CIJ II 1404) at a Jerusalem synagogue, probably from the 1st century, tells us more: the synagogue that Theodotos renovated served for reading the Torah and teaching the commandments (probably referring to halakha) and as lodging for outsiders. How representative this is remains unclear. Neither worship services nor prayer are explicitly mentioned. The synagogues before the Temple's destruction in the 1st century CE were a kind of town hall for Jewish communities in the diaspora. Later rabbinic sources call them 'house of the people.' Specifically religious functions were added only secondarily.

A small glimpse into Jewish religious life outside the Holy Land—and thus also in the synagogues—is provided by the Prayer of Azariah. This is an addition in the Greek version of the book of Daniel. Azariah prays as he faces being thrown into a fiery furnace with two of his Jewish brothers:

For we, O Lord, have become fewer than any nation, and are brought low this day in all the world because of our sins. In our day we have no ruler, or prophet, or leader, no burnt offering, or sacrifice, or oblation, or incense, no place to make an offering before you and to find mercy. Yet with a contrite heart and a humble spirit may we be accepted, as though it were with burnt offerings of rams and bulls, or with tens of thousands of fat lambs; such may our sacrifice be in your sight today, and may we unreservedly follow you, for no shame will come to those who trust in you.

On one hand, Azariah sees their own martyrdom in the fire as a kind of burnt offering; on the other hand, prayer takes the place of sacrifices generally, albeit as an admittedly deficient substitute. Participation in worship requires the right inner attitude (Sir 31:21f). A sacrifice offered without the proper attitude does not move God. This is what is meant by the so-called 'circumcision of the heart' (cf. the circumcision of the foreskin of wickedness in 1QS 5:5). Drawing on Deut 30:6, Paul also refers to this (Rom 2:29).

Paul's Relationship to the Temple and His Theology

Paul himself and the people to whom Paul wrote his letters lived in an early Jewish and simultaneously Hellenistic-Roman context. Even if they themselves weren't raised Jewish, they apparently knew much from the Bible and Israel's traditions. They had heard it in synagogue communities or from teachers who were already Christ-believers. Moreover, numerous elements of early Jewish temple theology were compatible with the common ancient religious worldview.

When Paul lived, the Herodian Temple still stood. As a devout Pharisaic Jew, he almost certainly had a close relationship to the Jerusalem Temple. Acts tells an interesting incident (Acts 21). Paul visits James in Jerusalem and tells of his successes in missionary work among non-Jewish people. James and his associates tell him about the many Jewish Christ-believers who have joined them and strictly observe the Torah. Among them, rumors are circulating that Paul dissuades Christ-believers from diaspora communities from keeping the law. The wording implies this is obviously false. To prove it, Paul is to pay for the haircut and sacrifice for four Nazirites—people who have kept a vow to God for a certain time. Together with them, he performs the necessary purification rites the following day and then goes with them into the temple to have the appropriate rituals carried out.

Interestingly, Paul doesn't mention the temple in his surviving letters. Many interpreters think the temple no longer played a role for Paul. This argument from absence seems problematic. Paul's failure to mention the Jerusalem Temple could be due to various reasons. The surviving Pauline letters allow only a very limited glimpse into Paul's life and thought. Mentioning a routine visit to the temple in Jerusalem would seem unnecessary.

As a Jewish person, Paul probably shared numerous expectations about the temple, especially the future hopes mentioned earlier. This can be transferred to some extent to the recipients of his letters. Even though the actual temple in Jerusalem may have played a subordinate role for them, eschatological hopes still focused on Zion and the temple.

Purity and Impurity

Questions about purity and impurity and about holiness and the profane are important for understanding many concepts encountered in the New Testament. Such concepts existed throughout the ancient world and were adapted specifically to each cult. Reality was divided into two realms: the divine and the human. All things and persons belonging to the divine realm were 'holy.' Thus an object of the same category could be holy or profane. A pot that belonged to temple inventory was accordingly holy. The pot in some house in Nazareth was not—it was profane. Things and persons that wanted to enter the deity's realm without punishment had to have a certain special state. The closer one came to the deity, the more flawless and removed from everyday life the thing or person had to be.

Impurity—that is, the absence of this special state—was caused by contact with blood, certain foods, the dead, and internally by sins—essentially by what could be called the sphere of death's influence (Matthew Thiessen). But skin diseases, sexual intercourse, or touching a surface that had previously been in contact with a menstruating woman also caused impurity. For Christ-believing groups, it was particularly relevant that contact with non-Jews could also be viewed as defiling.

The purity question initially only played a role when one wanted to visit the temple. If one was impure, the visit had to be postponed until the appropriate purification rites were completed. But what happens when one assumes that God is not only in the temple, but dwelling among the Israelites? Then a minimum level of cultic purity is needed even in everyday life.

The Pharisee group was known precisely for this: they demanded purity for all Israelites, insofar as this was possible for them. By Jesus' time, this concept had already become quite established. We hear in the Gospels, for example, about lepers who had to live outside the community to avoid defiling anyone. Something similar perhaps also applied to the woman with a flow of blood (Mark 1:40; 5:25). In many places in Palestine, however, Jewish and non-Jewish populations lived mixed together, so the daily life of Jewish people included daily purification rituals. Correspondingly, many mikvehs—ritual baths—and smaller basins have been excavated in Israel. In other regions, rivers and springs were probably used for this purpose.

The State of the Christ-Believers

To understand Paul's statements about the communities, one must be aware of the state in which the Christ-believers live according to his conception. He believes the world is in the end times. The final period before the last day has begun. In their baptism, the Christ-believers received the holy spirit as an anticipatory pledge of their eschatological existence in God's proximity (2 Cor 1:22). The bestowal of the spirit is central for Paul. It also shows itself outwardly in various gifts (1 Cor 12:4). The Christ-believers, whether Jewish or non-Jewish, thus already belong to the holy realm. In two passages, Paul brings the Christ-believers together with the Holy Spirit and the image of the temple:

1 Cor 3:16f and 6:19

1 Cor 3:16 Do you not know that you are a temple of God and the Spirit of God dwells in you? 3:17 If anyone destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which you are.

6:19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?

The rhetorical question 'Do you not know?' presupposes known knowledge in the community. The Hebrew Bible frequently speaks of God's dwelling (Hebrew שָׁכַן) in the temple or on Sinai (Ex 25:8; 29:45; Num 35:34; Deut 12:11, etc.). Interestingly, the LXX shows a tendency to translate this word quite differently, for example with God's 'appearing' or the invocation of his name. The concept is personalized. The person or body contains the Holy Spirit and thus a piece of God himself. But Paul doesn't mean the community as a body here—he actually means the individual person who is part of a community.

However, Paul has been and often still is accused of wanting to replace the Jerusalem Temple and its cult. This is the so-called substitution thesis. According to this interpretation, Pauline temple metaphors are 'understood as the result of a turning away from the existing sanctuary (Böttrich 1999, 412).' In a commentary on this passage we read: 'But early Christianity no longer expected the rebuilding of a temple; because of Christ's atoning death (cf. Rom 3:25), it needed no ritual mediation to God, but knew God—through his Spirit—in its midst and understood itself as the place of true worship of God (Wolff 2011, 74).'

"To support this view, passages from Qumran literature are usually cited, since the Qumran community is said to have understood itself similarly. However, while the Qumran community did view the Jerusalem Temple as corrupted and chose itself as a renewed realization of the wilderness period, it expected an eschatological temple. The Qumran writings speak of divisions known from the books of Moses. There is talk of a holy house of Aaron. But the word for house can equally mean an extended family or group. The sons of Aaron are holy anyway, since as priests they belong to the temple. From an ancient Jewish perspective, the idea that a group of people would permanently be God's dwelling place and the temple would no longer be necessary would be highly offensive. Zion or Jerusalem could be understood as a temple. Or God could be everywhere, not just in a temple.

The image of God dwelling also implies God's mastery of the house. For the Corinthians, this would mean they no longer belonged to themselves, but as long as the Holy Spirit dwells in them, he is the master of the house. The idea that a deity could be within a person was not unusual in antiquity. We encounter this especially in people who speak prophetically. In the Bible, for example, Saul encounters a group of prophesying prophets and is then seized by the spirit himself (1 Sam 10). But such an indwelling of the god Apollo is also assumed of the Pythia at the oracle of Delphi.

While 1 Cor 3:16f deals with conflict in the community and its division into certain parties, 1 Cor 6:19 concerns separation from porneia ('sexual immorality'). Porneia—which encompasses extramarital sex as well as the worship of other deities—causes bodily impurity, while conflict causes spiritual impurity. But if one contains a piece of God and belongs to the holy realm, then it's naturally very bad to be ritually impure.

Sexual practices were under discussion in Corinth. Greco-Roman culture is associated with unnatural intercourse. Relations with women who are not one's own, and especially pederasty—relationships between older adult men and very young men—are sharply condemned in early Judaism. Paul unreservedly agrees with this. Sexual desire is seen as a cause of conflict, jealousy, and violence. Sexuality is inherently a positive thing in early Judaism, as long as it stays within proper bounds. Paul says in 1 Cor 7:2 that precisely because of the danger of sin due to sexual desire, each person should have his own husband or wife.

Those who are inhabited by God through the holy spirit must keep themselves ritually pure. Conflict, illegitimate sex, and the worship of other gods must be avoided, according to Paul. Otherwise destruction threatens as punishment—a logical view in ancient and early Jewish thinking: destroying a temple is an unforgivable offense.

2Cor 6:16

A passage from 2 Corinthians is more closely related to early Jewish temple theology:

2 Cor 6:16 What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said: 'I will dwell in them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.'

The opening question, meant rhetorically, sounds irritating by common ancient standards. After all, every Greco-Roman temple contains a divine image. These divine images are dead gods for Paul, which is why he places Israel's living God as a contrast alongside them. The divine word Paul quotes is a combined quotation from Ex 29:45 and Lev 26:12. It thus refers to Israel's wilderness period, which was also viewed as a hope perspective for present and future. The quotation itself looks back to the covenant made with Israel at Sinai as God's treasured people.

Shortly before this, other elements appear that we know from non-Pauline writings: the sons of light or Belial as a designation for the devil (2 Cor 6:15). Because it recalls Qumran writings and other early Jewish texts, many interpreters have assumed and continue to assume that this section isn't by Paul at all. He would have taken this piece from someone else, a scribe would have inserted it, or some kind of note from opponents would have gotten into the text. But: How deeply rooted in Judaism should we imagine Paul to be? He probably received training in Jerusalem. He certainly belonged to the Pharisees and was active against what he saw as threatening inner-Jewish tendencies to relativize the Torah. His recognition that Christ is the expected Messiah then became part of his Jewish frame of reference, thus leading to a new emphasis in his Jewish worldview. So even if Paul did adopt the passage in question, it was on the basis of his Jewish self-understanding.

In 2 Cor 6, Paul defends himself against personal accusations. He responds by pointing to his blameless conduct and the hardships he has endured. Was he perhaps accused of fraud or living at others' expense? From the middle of the chapter, he turns directly to the Corinthian community. Using vocabulary from the Torah that, for example, forbids yoking a horse and an ox together, he makes clear that community members should not mix with unbelievers (ἄπιστοι). Rather, they should separate themselves. In 2 Cor 6:17, he justifies this with a quote from Isa 52:11. This passage immediately precedes the third Suffering Servant song (Isa 52:13–53:12), which Christ-believers applied to Christ. For Paul too, it was a central text. It alludes to a new time with God for Israel, a new exodus—this time from Babylon. This could be updated (e.g., Rev 5:9). Paul joins in this updating of the promise.

But who are the unbelievers (ἄπιστοι)? Are these Paul's opponents in Corinth—Jews who, like him, believe in Christ but represent different emphases? Or are they referring to non-Jewish Christ-believers? Probably no concrete opponents are in view here. Rather, we can observe how Corinthian community members tried to live their lives in the midst of a flourishing trading city. Non-Jewish community members perhaps participated in symposiums because they needed the network for their business. Or they were initiated into mystery cults—withdrawing would have made their own advancement impossible. In contrast, Paul demands commitment to Jewish tradition: no private contact with (in his case, non-Christ-believing) non-Jews (except within one's own family), as was also proper for diaspora communities according to some conceptions.

Paul concludes the section in 2 Cor 7:1 with a kind of summary:

2 Cor 7:1 Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.

This sentence draws richly on cultic language. In the literal sense, whether understood in early Jewish or common ancient terms, it calls for ritual purification in view of a temple visit. This is logical from a Jewish perspective, since life in the diaspora led to impurity. Purification rituals were probably everyday occurrences, at least for the devout. But Paul here also applies them to Christ-believers of non-Jewish origin. Through Christ, they are part of the eschatological events. Through the bestowal of the Spirit, they too belong to the community. The idea that no concrete purity rules applied to Paul's communities seems far-fetched based on the texts discussed. In Acts 22, this very accusation is rejected by James himself. Perhaps there were specific rules for non-Jewish Christ-believers (Acts 15:20,29; 21:25)—for example, no participation in other cults, no contact with blood (including sexual intercourse), no communal eating, no consumption of meat not specifically slaughtered. The Torah knows these rules as minimum standards for non-Israelites in Israel (Lev 17f.). They applied to all Israelites anyway. It seems conceivable that these basics were so self-evident for Paul that he didn't need to discuss them separately.

Paul knows other images for the community. As body and members, individuals are connected with one another in Christ (1 Cor 12:13). If one thinks of purity in this context, an impure member defiles the whole body. Thus the purity of all community members is important for the entire community. Sins and defilements should and must remain outside, since God is present in individuals and thus in the entire community. Otherwise the salvation of the individual, but also of the community as a whole, would be endangered.

Conclusion

The presence of the Spirit and thus of God in the individual has certain prerequisites in ancient Jewish, but also in non-Jewish ancient thinking. God doesn't come into everyday life, for he is holy. What belongs to him also no longer belongs to the everyday. The task of those who receive God is therefore special behavior: avoiding sin and cultic impurity, both internally and externally. The individual is then comparable to a temple of God, but he or she is not 'the temple.'

The Temple in Jerusalem and Zion still play a major role in eschatological expectation. Prayers and donations continue to be directed toward the Temple. The cult in Jerusalem is not in question for Paul. The church is not a 'new temple,' even though the Temple had no practical relevance for the diaspora-based communities. Paul advises good conduct and using God's gifts in the community, understanding this as sacrifice and service to God.

For a non-Jewish ancient person, this meant leaving behind friendships, possibly extended family, sometimes even giving up one's profession. The special way of living exposed them to the not uncommon anti-Judaism of antiquity and pressure from the pagan environment. This represents a high standard for each individual. Probably not a few failed to meet it: according to the Testament of Abraham, only one soul out of 60,000 is saved. In the Apocalypse of Elijah as well, only a few are allowed to pass through the narrow gate. The longer the Parousia was delayed, the more pressing this problem became. Quite early, from the 2nd century CE onward, there were voices that rejected everything Jewish in the still-young movement of Christ-believers. Marcion compiled a non-Jewish gospel. The anonymous author of the Letter to Diognetus devalues everything Jewish.

Not least for the sake of Paul's legacy, it is therefore important to see the Jewish heritage, to respect it, and to make it visible to others.

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