Chapter 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:

Methodology refers to a set of methods, principles, and techniques used to

perform a particular activity.
This researcher examines the temple of God and the early Christian Church
through an inter-revelatory insight by leveraging on the revelation of the temple of
God in the person of Jesus Christ, the revelation of the god in the temple of New
Testament church and the characteristics of the New Testament temple which is
the Church.

Both Viola and Barna made some helpful observations in regards to the
temple and church history, however, they do not go into any detail on how thin
theology of the temple influenced the early Christians worship and their society.
They do not attempt to explain what is meant by the church as the temple based on
its broader redemptive historical context. This research aims to fill in these gups by
utilizing a biblical-theological approach to the temple. Thus, this research
evaluates why the temple, its purpose, and relationship with the early Christian
church.

It is a fact that one of the major themes of the Bible that runs throughout the
Old and New Testament in that of the temple, or dwelling place of God. It is such a
topic that begins in Genesis, ends in revelation and unfolds throughout all of
redemptive history in between. The focus of this work will be on how the New
Testament Church identified itself as the spiritual temple of God and influence this
doctrine had on the way they worshipped and lived as people of God or a
community that worship God.
Here, our lens is shifted to the revelation of temple of God in the person of
Jesus Christ. This important new development in the temple of God was introduced
in the New Testament. Till now and in the Bible, the temple was reserved to some
specific location. This has taken place in a garden, on a mountain, in a tabernacle
and in the architectural temples of Isreal. Now we have the body and temple of
God in a human flesh. This in a major development in the New Testament in
regards to the biblical idea of temple which is the dwelling of God in Jesus Christ.
Christ as the Last Adam and the True Israel
The New Testament identifies Jesus as having a connection to both Adam
and Israel who have gone before him. The most significant aspect to this
connection is that Jesus succeeded at all the things Adam and Israel failed to do.
Due to their dis-obedience and rebellion against God, Adam and the people of
Israel never expanded God’s presence throughout earth. All the commands and
promises given to Adam, Noah, the patriarchs and the prophets of the Old
Testament find their fulfilness in Jesus Christ. The significance is found in the fact
that God’s temple presence among his people was dependent on their obedience.
As the representative for his people, Christ in his complete obedience secured their
Covenant right to God’s presence. Just as the coming of Christ marked the the
beginning of a new humanity, it also brought with it a new corresponding temple.
There is a clear link made from the very the gospels to the Old Testament context.
The gospel of Matthew begins with the “book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ”
which traces Jesus line back to the beginning of the people of Israel in Abraham
(Matt 1:1-16). The gospel of Luke goes one step further and traces back Jesus’
lineage to Adam, “the son of God “(Luke 3:23-37). While the coming of Christ
clearly finds its context in the long history of the people Israel, it is at the same the
beginning of something new. Mark’s gospel starts with the words “the beginning
of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God (Mark 1:1). The good news of Jesus
will take the commands and promises made to made to Adam and Israel in
redemptive history.
Jesus is referred to as the second or last Adam (1 Corinth. 15:45) because he
is the beginning of the new Creation (G.K. Beale, 2004;170). As Ladd stated, “he
is the last Adam because by virtue of his resurrection and exaltation he has become
a “life giving spirit; the fountain head of the people of God in the new age (George
Eldon Ladd, 1993: 463). In Adam all people die and are cast out of God’s
presence, but in Christ all his people are made alive. It is through the atoning work
of Jesus that sinful people are reconciled to a holy God and given new life so that
they can live in his mission (GK Beale, 2014:82) creating a new humanity through
Jesus to undue the damage done by Adam’s sin and accomplish the purpose he
always set out to achieve.

The failures of Adam to expand the garden and in doing so expand the presence of
God throughout the earth will arrive in to fullness. The victory of Christ will create
a new remnant among humanity that will accomplish God’s temple purposes for
the universe! Romans, Paul argues that if by “one man’s trespass, death reigned
through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace
and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ”
(Rom 5:17). Through the failure of Adam, all men were made to fail due to to the
fact that they were all made sinners. Failure to enjoy and spread God’s temple
presence was a direct result of sin that entered the earth and reigned over all men,
eventually culminating in death. To resolve this problem, God has established a
way for those justly condemned to be made righteousness through his grace which
causes them to reign in life, (5:21). The failure of Adam is the garden would be the
pattern for the failure of all who came after him. The victory of Jesus,the Last
Adam, would also become beginning of his church success and the guarantee of
the final completion to spread God’s presence throughout all creation.
Jesus was also the true Israel in that he was the “embodiment of faithful
Israel a” remnant of one” (Tremper Longman and Raymond B. Dillard, 2006:
315). Out all Israelites that ever lived, Jesus alone was the one who would meet all
the demands of the law. One clear example this can be seen in the comparison of
the temptations of Jesus for forty days without food, Jesus was tempted by devil
himself to turn stones into bread (Matt. 4:3), doubt or be made to prove who he
was (4:6), and finally worship the devil means to gaining the world. Beale has
pointed out that the responses that Jesus makes to Satan are taken from responses
made by Moses to Israel when they failed in the wilderness (Deut 8:3 in Matt 4;4)
Deut 6;6 in Matt 4;7 Deut 6:13 in Matt 4:10) (Beale, 2014:172)

There is a very intentional connection made between these two stories to

show that while Israel failed their fest in the wilderness, Jesus who was the true
Israel did not fail his Throughout the rest of their history, the people of Israel
would fail again and again to resist the devil’s temptation and live in obedience to
God. On the contrary, Jesus would continue stead- fast throughout rest of his life
and continuously the rest live in obedience to the God of Israel.
 In addition to resisting the temptation of the devil by his persistent
obedience, Jesus” also conquered in the manner that Adam and Israel ought to
have done. Adam failed at Conquering the serpent in the garden and Israel failed at
conquering the promise land. Both of these failures inevitably led to the
compromise of God’s temple and the failure to accomplish the temple expansion
purpose. God has promised to be with Israel as they conquered the land, but due to
their failure to live up to their responsibilities of the Covenant they failed in their
fight and were left without the presence of God. This is ultimate ultimately what
led to the demise of their kingdoms. Jesus came preaching the “good news the
kingdom of God” (Luk 8:1 16:16) and spoke constantly of the nature of his
kingdom that is “not of this world” (John 18:36). Christ’s kingdom would be one
that conquers evil in the way that the kingdom of Israel ought to have.
The wilderness temptation of was the beginning of his conquering of the
devil, which continued throughout his life as he made war on the world by casting
out demons, healing the sick, and setting free those who were captive to sin.. This
conquering of the earth and the establishment of his kingdom would find its
culmination in his victorious death find and resurrection of Jesus, God has done
battle with, and vanquished, the powers of evil and death that have held humanity
and the world in bondage” held Richard Middleton 2014;67). Again, Jesus
conquered the Powers of evil in every way that Adam and Israel ought to have
done. His battle with evil goes one step further even in that it vanquished the evil
that was let into the world through Adam’s transgression.

Christ as the Temple God:

Just as Jesus is the New Testament fulfillment of both Adam and Israel, he is
also the fulfillment of the temple itself. One of the first major confrontations that
Jesus has with the Jews takes place during Passover: “The Passover of the Jews
was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found those who
were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money changers sitting there.
And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple with the sheep
and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their
tables. And the told those who sold the pigeons, “Take those things away, do not
make my father’s house a house of trade. His disciples remembered that it was
written, “Zeal for your house will consume me! So the Jews said to him, “What
Sign do you show us for doing these things?” Jesus answered them,” “Destroy this
temple, and in three days I will raise it up”. The Jews then said, “It has taken forty
six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days? But he was
speaking about the temple of his body. When therefore he was raised from the
dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the
scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken. (John 2:13-22) The temple that this
took place in was neither the temple built by Solomon nor the one built by the
returned exiles. The temple was built by Herod the Great and was main attraction
to Jerusalem during the life of Jesus. Due to the ling journey that many would have
to make to celebrate Passover in Jerusalem, there were people who sold the
animals for the necessary sacrifices such as Oxen, sheep, and pigeons (2:14). Jesus
chases out with a whip the animals and money-changers while at the same time
turning over their tables. The account shows perhaps the greatest display of anger
in Jesus out of all the stories recorded in the gospels about his earthly life. We must
answer the question as to why this scenario created such anger in the Lord. While
there is likely more than answer to this question, the most important one is that this
business was actually disrupting the worship of God by serving as distraction and
inhibiting those that came to be in his presence. The temple is not just a building
for business to take places, but it is Jesus’ “Father’s house “which was never
intended to be a “house of trade” (2;16). Instead, Jesus quotes from Isaiah 56:7
saying “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations” (Mk11:17).
The core issue is that the selling, buying, and money changing were taking place
the temple in the only section that Gentiles were allowed into (Beale, 2014:74)
Many Gentiles would have long distances to come into God’s presence in the
temple but would have left dissatisfied by the great distractions that prevented
them from truly encountering the Lord. The temple meant to be a blessing to the
nations where they could come for prayer, but it was no longer serving this purpose
effectively. The Jews could have gone in from the outer court away from noise, but
not the nations they were the meant to bless. So Jesus consumed with zeal for his
father’s house expressed his disapproval by at least temporarily stopping the
operation altogether. It is in this context that we the first occasion where Jesus
refers to his own body as a temple (John 2:19). The Jews quickly demand a sign
from him to show by what authority he has the right to do this sorts of things.
Rather than give a direct sign Jesus shows them to a perplexing answer to “Destroy
this temple and answer is three days I wilt raise it up” (2:19) The Jews take this
line in the most literal sense possible and state that since it has taken forty six years
to build the temple, it would be absurd for Jesus to raise it back up in only three
days (2:20). John then tells us that what Jesus was really referring to was the
“temple of this body” (2;21) Indeed one scholar stated; “The Fourth Evangelist”
portrays this event in order to bring out its meaning for community. Jesus is now
the dwelling place of God. The glory once visible in Israel tabernacle and temple
can now be seen in Jesus”. (Mary Coloe, 2009: 368)
The human body of Jesus was a temple in the same sense that the temples
we have examined thus far were. He was the dwelling place of God on earth that
exhibited the glory God in an even greater measure glory of than any architectural
temple had ever done.
This interaction is an elaboration on a Previous statement made at the very
beginning of the Gospel of John; “In the beginning was the Word and the Word
was God……. And the Word became flesh dwelt among us, and we have seen his
glory, glory as the Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:1; 14).
The Word that is being referenced is clearly the Lord Jesus who always was
God along with the Father and the Holy Spirit. This language John uses
immediately evokes the remembrance of language the Genes is account of the
creation of the world. As we shall see, the coming of Jesus was the beginning of
the new creation. At this point, it is most important to note the word used to
describe that “Jesus “dwelt” among is in the same word for tabernacle. Jesus
tabernacled among us on the earth and his was beheld by all. Beale explains the
astounding implication that “the special revelatory presence by God, formerly
contained in the holy of holies of the tabernacle and temple, has now burst forth
into the world in the form of the incarnate God, Jesus Christ.” (Beale, 2014: 195)
The incredible presence that filled the holy of holies where only the high
priest could enter once a year now filled a single man incessantly. Likewise, just as
the tabernacle displayed the glory of God to the people of Israel during their
wilderness wanderings, the tabernacle of Christ now displayed the glory of God
even more clearly to the entire world during his incarnation. Milne has summarized
this idea by stating that John viewed the entire ministry of Jesus as “tabernacling”
by which the disciples were able to behold his glory. Over and over again (Bruce
Milne, 1993;43). In John 1:57, Jesus tells Nathaniel that he will see heaven the
angels of God opened, and ascending and descending on the Son of Man” Jesus is
intentionally attending to Jacob’s temple like encounter with and at Bethel where
there was a stairway to heaven that angels ascended and descended upon
( Gens.28:12). The vision indicated that was a link between heaven and earth just
as the later temples of Jerusalem would be (Beale – 2014:195). Jesus is now
asserting that he is presence of God on earth link between heaven and earth. His
presence on earth displaces the temple as the place where people go to meet with
God. Instead they must come to him in faith and worship

Jesus’ interaction with the Samaritan woman at the well confirms this. The
woman introduces a common debate between Jews and Samaritans as to where the
time place of Worship Mountain in. Is it on a mountain in Samaria or in
Jerusalem? Before the coming of Christ the answer would be in Jerusalem. Jesus
prefaces his answer with the phrase “believe me” (4;21) because the answer he
gives would have been quite starting to the woman and subsequent hearers.
(William Hendriksen, 2012; 106). Jesus proclaims “the hour is coming when
neither on mountain nor in Jerusalem wild you worship the Father………. The
hour is coming and in now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father
in Spirit and truth”(4:21;23). Worship is no longer regulated to a specific physical
location, but instead it is found in a specific person. The “how and the what of
worship matter immensely as it must be done spirit and truth, but the “where” is
something that has been made insignificant. The temple as a place for worship
became obsolete with the coming of Christ and would one day disappear
completely from the earth.

Destruction of the Old Temple and the Establishment of

the New:
Jesus foretold the destruction of the physical temple in multiple passages. In.
Mark 13, his disciples are admiring the “ “wonderful buildings” of the temple and
seem to still miss the significance of who he is in the middle of it” (Mark 13.1)
Jesus response is that “there will not be left here one store upon another that will
not be thrown down” (Mark 13;2). Jesus then goes onto foretell the temple
tribulations that will accompany the day when the temple is destroyed. In the end,
Jerusalem will be trampled “underfoot” and utterly ruined by Gentiles, which
would include the temple (Luke 21:24). Another passage that predicts the
destruction of the temple is the visual parable of Jesus cursing the fig thee ( Matt
21:18-22 ; Mark 11:12-14,20-24). The fig tree has leaves, but does not have any
fruit on it so Jesus curses the tree causing it to wither. In the same way, Israel has
an appearance of life with its external religion just like the leaves, but it does not
have any real spiritual vitality or fruit. As the tree was cursed and as a result
withered, Israel and its temple will be rejected by God and left to wither for a time.
 The physical temple was utterly rejected and the spiritual temple of Christ
established.
While the physical temple was destroyed in 70 AD, the temple was
destroyed spiritually many years before that at death and resurrection of Jesus.
(G.K Beale, 2014:143). At the time of this crucifixion Jesus was mocked, those
passing by said “you who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days,
save yourself.” (Matt. 27:40). Who said these things did not realize that it was by
his death on the Cross that he was actually destroying old and establishing the old
temple. One scholar has made an important observations: “Jesus Came not to to
destroy Judaism; but to bring it to the destined goal the eschatological order of
worship in the new creation initiated through and in his deed and presence as the
crucified and resurrected Lord. The new temple is precisely the crucified and risen
Son of God; (George Raymond Beasley 1999:42). While Jesus ended the function
of the old temple as a place to mediate the presence of God, he was also fulfilling
that which the temple was always intended to accomplish. Jesus is the temple of
the new creation from which the presence of God will expand throughout the
heavens and the earth.
When Jesus died on the cross we are told in Matthew 27:57-42 of an
astonishing event that took place: “The curtain of the temple was torn in two, from
top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were
& opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised.”
R.T France has asserted that the fearing of the temple curtains primarily is a
symbol that through Jesus death there is now open access to God and at the same
time it is a foreshadowing of the destruction that will come in 70 AD (R.T. France,
1985;400).

God has made a way for his people to be reconciled to him and this newly
brought reconciliation excludes the temple and all that it represented. The words
that follow the description of the torn curtain show that this meaning goes beyond
just the physical destruction of the temple and includes the destruction of entire old
cosmos The earth shakes and rocks are breaking, while even some that previously
cried are raised. The death of Jesus on the cross was death of the former temple
and the old ways of the world. In Jesus resurrection we see the beginning of the
“new temple and new cosmos, a new creation. (G.K Beale, 2014 : 93). God’s
glorious presence, restricted to the temple, is now available to every person on
earth exactly where they are through the person and work of Jesus.

Christ is Greater than the previous Temples:

With the culmination of all these things it is no surprise then that Jesus says
that He is greater than the temple (Matt. 12;6). He asserts this plainly to the
phansees after they accused his of disciples of breaking a Sabbath law by plucking
heads of green to eat (Matt 12:1-2). Jesus response to the Phansees was surprising
as he did not attempt minimize what the disciples were doing by arguing over the
specifics of the law. Instead, he cites the Old Testament examples the David and
the temple priests “He Said to them, Have you not read what David did when he
was hungry and those who were with him; how he entered the house ef God and
ate the Bread of the presence which it was not lawful for him, nor for those who
were with him, but only for for the Priests? Or have you not read in the Law how
on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? I tell
you something greater than the temple is here. And if you had known what this,
means,” I desire mercy, and not sacrifice you wouldn’t have condemned the
guiltness. For the Son of man is lord of the Sabbath( Matt 12;4-8).
Jesus does not get into an argument over what actually constitutes work;
instead he shows that the law should be interpreted with a hermeneutic of mercy by
which he then proves was precedent even in the life of David (Ben Witherington,
2006: 241). It is not the Law that Jesus is disagreeing with, but the Pharisees own
interpretation of the Law and the traditions they subscribed to. The examples Jesus
gives from the life of David in a scenario that is quite extreme in that it would
Great wrath a seemingly merit God’s great wrath against David. This would have
been have been A serious offense against Lord and one committed in the place on
earth that his presence was most known.
However a breach in this law was acceptable seemingly due to the
emergency situation and David great needs at that time. Similarly, Jesus point out
that the Law itself makes an exception for the priests that serve in the temple to
work by doing their necessary activities.

On the Sabbath (Craig. S. Keener 2011:225) Jesus is showing that not only do the
Pharisees misinterpret the Law, but of that the in lord of the Sabbath (12;8).
 This Lordship over the Sabbath is enhanced when you consider its
relationship to Jesus claim that “Something greater than temple is here the “namely
himself (12:6). Jesus gives the example of David who’s lack of conformity to the
law took place in the temple with one the most sacred items in it which was the
Bread of the presence” (12:4).
Similarly, the priests also worked the on the Sabbath in the temple but were
“guiltless (12;5). Jesus is concluding here that if the Pharisees really understood
who it was that was among them, then what the disciples were doing would be
even worse than they imagined if their interpretation of scripture was correct. Jesus
gave two great examples of scenarios in the Old Testament that didn’t fit into the
traditional understanding of the Sabbath that the Pharisees held. The example of
David especially would have been one that was condemnable upon death to them
had they been alive at that time. Jesus states that he is even greater and holier than
the earthly temple that David did this in. He is the Holy of Holies incarnate and the
disciples are doing this very thing in his presence. Instead of it being an occasion
that brings down wrath it become an occasion to explain the mercy of God. If the
Pharisees knew that in Christ that it was the temple of God in Christ with, they
were interacting with, they would have known that he was the lord of the Sabbath
who should be worshipped.
Another reason on that Christ is greater than the temple of Israel is seen in
his relationships with those that would have been formerly banned from the
temple. We are told that the “blind and the lame came to him in the temple and he
healed them” (Matt 21:14). Jesus heals those in the temple that previously would
have been kept from in the temple worship because of their deformity of
uncleanness. Jesus is so much greater than the previous temple because he not only
welcomes them, but he also has the ability to make them well fit for worship.(Isiah
56:3-8), the prophet speaks of a day when eunuchs, outcasts and Gentiles will be
free to worship in the “house “of the Lord. This finds fulfillment who makes in the
better temple of Christ who makes a way for all people to enter the presence of
God.

Christ, the temple and the Great Commissions

 Finally, we see that the great commission is connected to the previous
commissions given to Adam, Noah, and the patriarchs. Just as they were given the
task of expanding God’s temple presence throughout the earth, the risen Christ
gave his disciples, the same task in Matthew 28: 18-20. And Jesus came and said to
them “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and
make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the , Father and the
Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observes all that I have commanded
you. And behold, I am with you always to the end of the age.
Jesus commands his followers to go throughout the entire earth and make
disciples worship in nation that will worship him and observe all that he has
commanded. Two things in this passage assure the disciples that they have all they
needed to accomplish this task. The first is that “all authority” in the entire world
has been given to Jesus (Matt 25:18). He is the rightful ruler of the universe who
has all the power necessary to accomplish his purpose in the world. The second is
connected to this in that he tells the disciples “I am with you always………
“(28:20). It is the presence of Jesus with them that is the guarantee that this
mission will be accomplished.
It was the promised presence to Israel that guaranteed they would conquer
those that were living in the promise land, but their own sin and unrighteousness
kept it from coming to pass. In Christ, we have an even greater promise than the
one previously given to Israel this is because not only given to Israel. This is
because only did Christ guarantee his presence, but he also secured his
righteousness his people as we examined earlier. The Church will not fail, despite
their sin as Israel did because the promise is not contingent upon her own success
is obeying the commandments of God.. It is entirely based upon the work of Jesus.
There are no obstacles that stands in the way of Christ succeeding in his mission to
expand the temple presence ners of God throughout the heavens and the earth.
There is a remarkable similarity between the Great Commission and the
commission of Cyrus to build the temple in 2 Chronicle 36:23& Beale, 2014;95)
Thus says, Cyrus King Persia, the lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the
kingdoms of the earth and he has changed me to build him a house of Jerusalem
you of all his people may the lord which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all
his people, may the LORD his God be with him. Let him go up.” There are three
main things in this passage that find a direct correlation in the Great Commission.
First, Cyrus claims that God has given him “all the kingdoms of the earth”, which
resemble all authority being given to Christ. Second, those people that belong to
the Lord are told to “go up, just as Christ told his people to “go”. Thirdly, Cyrus
says “the LORD his God be with him”, which once again resembles Jesus’ promise
to be with his disciples. The Comparison of these two texts suggests that the Great
Commission is the true fulfillment of what Cyrus intended and that the commission
includes a clear element of temple building. The house God is no longer a building
in Jerusalem, So the specific details of the command have change. However, there
is a clear Connection between authority, the presence of the Lord, and being sent
on a mission to build or expand the temple of God. The Great Commission is a
recommission of that which was given to Adam, Noah, the patriarchs and the
nation of Israel.

The death and resurrection of Christ and the subsequent commands given in the
Great Commission lead to another aspect of the temple in the New Testament,
which is found in the church.
Christ is also referred to as the” cornerstone” of the temple. In Matthew 21:42,
Jesus quotes Psalm 118:22-23 by Saying “The Stone that the builders rejected has
become the Corner stone,” this was the Lords doing and it is marvelous in our
eyes.” when Jesus refers to himself as the Cornerstone, there is little doubt that he
has in mind the cornerstone of a temple (Michael Patrick Barber, 2013:942).
Ephesians 2:20-21 confirms this when it asserts that the New Testament church is a
“holy temple in the Lord” and “Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone.” During
his life. On earth the Lord Jesus was the temple of God tabernacling among men.
His purpose was to new would be his people for God that would be his dwelling
place on the earth and a blessing to the nations. In this new Community called the
Church, Jesus is the Cornerstone upon which the rest of the Temple to built.

Keener also notes that by claiming to be the Cornerstone, Jesus was challenging
the current “builders” or the temple authorities at that time (Keener, 321). This is
apparent from the Context of the parable of the wicked tenants. In telling the
parable about the tenants who treated the master of the house so poorly along with
all his servants and even in son , Jesus was indicting Israel for their rebellion
against the Lord. They too had rejected his servants the prophets. Whom he sent
and even his own Son.
Jesus Concludes the encounter by stating that, “the kingdom of God will be taken
away from you and given to a people producing its fruits”. ( Matt 21:43). The
kingdom of God and the temple associated to that temple transferred from the
people of Israel to the new Testament church.
The Old Testament anticipated when God would ultimately dwell with his people
•The language and descriptions of this dwelling were fitting for the people of
Israel, , but in many gave a vague picture as to what the real fulfillment would
look like.. the real fulfillment The Old Testament authors understanding of what
they were writing was not as Comprehensive as the simultaneous divine intentions,
which become progressively unpacked as the history of revelation progresses until
they reach climax in Christ.”(Beale,379) This often referred to as the prophecies
Containing an extended meaning. Many of the Old Testament prophecies that
spoke of the latter day temple latter describe it in terms or the language of a
physical temple (Ezek. 40-48). However, these were meant to teach something
about the nature of the non-architectural temple that was to come, not a physical
structure. This is not to imply that there is ever a change to the original meaning of
the text, but rather there is an unfolding revelation of the greater meaning or
fulfillment that God originally intended which typically finds realization in Christ.
In fact, Jesus claimed that the entire Old Testament testified to and spoke
concerning himself (Luke 24:25-27, John 5:39-40). So, in order to find the true,
“goal and meaning of the temple we must look to Christ.
It is in the person of Jesus Christ that many Old Testament temple prophecies tend
their fulfillment (Graeme Goldsworthy, 1991:55) Hence, we find in Christ a
temple, a temple builder and the cornerstone of the new temple in the church.
Christ succeeded in all the ways that his predecessors should have, but failed to do
so. Through his life, death and resurrection he established his church as the new
temple of God which will accomplish this purposes of expanding the presence of
God throughout the entire earth.
The next significant development is the revelation of the temple of God in the New
Testament church. That means, the New Testament concept of the temple of God
is found in the church of Jesus Christ. From his incarnation to the time of his
Ascension, Jesus was the temple of God on earth. However, with his Bodily
departure from the earth the church has become the new dwelling place of God. It
is now the spiritual presence of Jesus living in and among the church through the
Holy Spirit that will lead to the eventual completion of God’s plan to fill the entire
cosmos with his presence. Just as it was God’s tabernacling presence that made
Israel a “distinct” people (Exod. 33:16), so it is now for the church. Yet, while God
dwelt with Israel through the structures of the tabernacle and temple, the New
Testament church has no physical structures for the purpose of mediating his
presence. The Church itself is a spiritual temple of the Lord that his presence fills
wherever it gathers on the Earth.
New Temple Beginnings in the Book of Acts:
The church became the temple of God at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended
upon the church, which was accompanied with the sign of tongues: “When the day
of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came
from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house were
they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on
each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak
in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. “(Acts 2:1-4)”
This experience was seen by the multitude that was in Jerusalem at the time for the
festival. The miracle that took place was that each person was able to understand
what the believers were Speaking in their own native tongue. Beale points. Out that
Pentecost is best understood in the “redemptive-historical context of the whole
Bible” (a. k .Beak, 2004:201). As easily over looked or assumed. Aspect of this
account is that the many people visiting the city spoke differently on diverse lan-
gauges.(Acts 2:8). In this Situation, the sign of tongues is a breaking of barriers or
even a temporary solution to the division caused by people speaking many
different languages. This echoes to the account of the tower of Babel that we
analyzed previously in our study of the Old Testament. The list of nations in Acts
2:9-11 is an abbreviated form of the list that is described at length in Genesis 10.
At the tower of Babel, humanity defied. God’s command to fill the earth and
instead sought to unite against God in one place. God answered inagment
againlmst them causing their language to be confused so they couldn’t understand
each other. This led to their dispersion throughout the earth, but it was not a willful
and certainly not worshipful spreading. Pentecost is the reversal of Babel where we
see numerous nations all comprehending what is being said at the same time. What
was Confused at Babel, is comprehensible at Pentecost. In fact, there is some
confusion that takes place, but it is the “bewilderment” (2:6) over the fact that they
can all understand what is being said. Witherington points out the irony of this as
previously the “unintelligibility factor caused by many tongues caused the
confusion; here the intelligibility factor does so” (Ben withering ton, 1998:136). It
is fitting that the new temple of God begins with a temporary reuniting of
languages that leads to witnesses dispersing throughout the earth to bring God’s
saving presence to the nations. Pentecost is a reversal of Babel and the Creation of
the new temple of God that will expand throughout the earth. Another notable
passage in Acts with regards to the temple is found in Chapter 17 in Paul’s speech
to the men of Athens. Paul had been preaching “Jesus and the resurrection” (Acts
17:18) in the marketplace, which drew enough attention to have him brought
before the Areopagus. In his speech to them the essentially states that at this point
in history God is not to be sought or worshipped in any physical temple. He tells
them that;
”The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven
and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands
as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath
and everything (Acts 17: 24-25).

Manshall Suggests that this statement may be an “echo” of Solomon’s prayer

during the dedication of the temple where the acknowledged the Inadequacy of
even that temple I Howard Marshall, 1989: 287). There is no temple on earth that
is adequate enough to house the Creator and Lord of all. In the past he took up a
temporary residence in the tabernacle and temples of Israel, but now he is present
in the temple that is the new Testament church.
As Paul’s continues in his speech, he gives a summary so to speak of what the
fulfillment of the Adamic Commission looks like as a “post fall world in relation
to temple building” (Beale, 230). And he made from one man every nation of
mankind to live on all the face of the earth,having determined allotted period and
the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God and, and perhaps
peel their way toward him and find him. Yet, he is actually not far from each one
of us, for …. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now the commands all
people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge
the word in righteousness by a man who he has appointed ,and of this he has
given assurance to all by raising from the dead .(Acts 17:26-31).
Mankind was dispersed across the earth for the purpose that they “should Seek
God” and “feel their way toward him” and even, “find him”. Witherington
suggests again that this too likely as reference to the dispersion from the tower of
Babel. (Witherington,527). The great important of this text is that it suggests that
the post fall method of the Adamic Commission is found in repentance. Based on
Paul’s argument, the commission would now be fulfilled if “all men” every where
repented.(Beale,231). This is yet another affirmation that the Great Commission is
a reinstatement of the Cultural Mandate. True repentance “never exists except in
conjunction with faith” (Louis Berkhof, 1996:487) ,which is the means by which
men can be reconciled to God through the resurrected Christ. Even with the
physical departure of Christ from the earth , It is still only through him that the
presence of God will be spread throughout the earth .
Faith and repentance done in response to his gospel is the entry way into the New
Testament temple.
At the Jerusalem council in Acts 15 there is another reference to the new temple,
which is based on a quotation from Amos 9:11-12, James recounts that prophecy
that “after this I will return, and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen, I
will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it, that the reminant of mankind may seek
the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by my name, says the Lord, who
makes these things known from of old” (Acts15:10-18) •The resurrection of Christ
the beginning of the fulfillment of this prophecy, especially that God will “ rebuild
the tent David” (Beale, 233).
Jesus is now tabernacle that all people, Jews and Gentiles, may come to worship
Through. Another reason that Christ is greater than the physical temples of Israel is
all who come to him in faith have “Cleansed their hearts by faith by faith” (Acts
15:9). There are no Ceremonial laws. That define the Gentiles or Certain Israelites
as unclean and in so doing bar them from worship. All have doing bar been made
clean in Christ and can worship at any time in any place .
Shortly after quoting the prophecy from Amos, James goes on to say that the
gentiles believers should. “abstain from The things polluted by idols, and from
Sexual immorality, and from what has been Strangled, and from blood” (Acts
15:20)
At first glance, these four requirement seem quite strange in light over all
decision that the Gentiles are not require to keep the Mosaic laws. However, the
reasons on James mentions these specific four elements is likely due to the “Social
setting” that they would commonly be performed together at, which would be
some kind of Pagan temple feast (Witherington, 461).
 Each of these things would likely be discouraged, it is the false worship behind
that is the crux of the matter.
These same things were prohibited in the Old Testament for both the Israelites and
the sojourner among them (Lev17:8-14,18:6-26).Beale Summarize James
Commands is relation to the Old Testament Context: “Just as Gentile aliens in
Israel were to worship at the tabernacle while abstaining from idolatry, so Gentile
worshippers in the church were to worship at the new tabernacle while keeping
away from idolatry. Just as God’s presence at the tabernacle was the reason to stay
away from idol worship, so Christ end-time presence as the true tabernacle is the
reasons for not participating in idol (Beale, 241).
In light of this background James prohibition does not seem as out place as it
mighty on the surface. The concern is over worshipping only the true God through
Christ instead of worshipping idols in pagan temples. This is not enforcing Mosaic
laws on the gentiles. But rather showing that idolatry and worship in Christ
temple cannot coexist together. The new temple is available to all people from all
backgrounds that come to Jesus alone in faith and repentance.

The Temple in the Epistles of Paul:

The most explicit statements concerning the church as the new temple of
God are found in the epistles of Saint Paul. In 1 Corinthians 3 we have one of the
clearest texts on this important Concept and transition in the New Testament . In
this chapter Paul is speaking to the Corinthian Church to correct their
understanding of how leadership works in the church and to rebuke their undue
allegiance to certain leaders. There was “jealousy and strife” in the church that
was at least in part due to the fact that some Christians were saying “I follow Paul”
and others “I follow Apollos” (1 Corinth-3:3-4). Paul then gives an agricultural
metaphor by stating that he and Apollos simply planted seeds and watered, while
God is the one who truly gives growth (1 Corinth. 3:5-6). They will receive a
reward for their work, but only God deserves glory in this new community.

There is an important shift in the metaphor, when Paul States “You are
God’s field, God’s building”(Corinth 3:9). The building that Paul is beginning to
discuss is the temple of God (1 Corinth. 3:16). He laid the foundation of the temple
when he was among them, which is none other than Jesus Christ (1 Corinth: 3:11).
As we have already seen, during his incarnation Jesus was the temple of God on
earth and at Pentecost the Holy Spirit filled the Church. However, the temple of
God’s is not finished. Paul laid the foundation of the Corinthian Church and there
is no other foundation than the one that has already being laid (1 Corinth 3:11).
Despite the completion of the foundation, the temple is still being built through the
work of the church. Paul stresses the importance of the church to keep working by
building upon the foundation of jesus Clurist (1 Corinth. 3:12).There are broader
implications of what this work consists of, but the most obvious based on the
Context is making disciples. In the agricultural metaphor, Paul discussed the
process of disciples making as carried out by himself and Apollos, which was
ultimately the work of God. Here, we see that in some measure it is the work of
the entire Church to build the temple of God by growing the church .
The climax of the passage is when Paul state ;“Do you not that you are God’s
temple and that God’s spirit ewells in you? If anyone destroys Good’s temple, God
will destroy him .For God ‘s temple is only and you are that temple” ( 1corinth
3:16 -17)
Garland rightly, states that, “It is a startling declaration to identify the
Community in Corinth gather in their cramped, diminietive house churches as the
temple of God. Compared to the grand temples in Corinth and the magnificent
temple in Jerusalem, they appear ramshackle”. (David .E. Garland, 2003:120) The
phrase. “Do you not know” is used ten times in this letter and introduce a topic that
should be common knowledge among the church. (Leon Morris, 1983: 67). From
the very beginning the church understood itself to be the new temple of God,
which had a direct impact on how they lived and operated as that temple.The
essence of this temple in relation to God is that place it is the place “that God’s
spirit dwells” (3:16 , which naturally gives the church it is the chief
characteristics of holiness .once again, it is the presence of God among his people
that makes them the set apart and distinct people on the earth.This holiness belongs
to them by virtue of God dwelling in them, but it must be a descriptive term in
how they live out this temple reality on earth.
Paul also gives a very serious threat to those that would seek to destroy this
new temple by saying that God would instead destroy them. Paul is not reffering
here to true Christians who have the spirit of God dwelling in them , but rather
those that are “devoid of God’s Spirit” “ are purposefully ruining, corrupting, And
destroying the church.” (“Simon Kisttemaker, 1993:117). There are people who
take part in the activities and worship of the church that are not really part of the
New Testament temple. This is just another way of saying that the visible church
contains people that are not really save and those that are causing problems in the
church, either doctrinally or ethically, are clearest example of this . the temple
language put a more serious tenor on this because the sins are a direct attack on
the places that God is Most fully present. It is comparable to one entering the holy
of holies in an attempt to destroy the Old Testament temple of Solomon. God’s
holiness is sure to bring judgment on any who attempt such a thing.
One last important aspect from first Corinthians is found in a comparison of
chapters three and six. In mainstream Christianity the largest emphases in
relationship to Christians being the temple of God comes from chapter six. Once
again, paul begins “ Do you not know that your body is a temple of the holy spirit
within you , whom you have from God”(1Corinth. 6:19)?The temple that Paul is
reffering to is the passage is clearly the body of individual Christians. This is true
because the Holy Spirit comes not fast generally to the church, but specifically into
individual believers . However, when analyzing chapter three you must be careful
not to make the errors of “individualistics interpretation ….. because this passage
speaks only of the church, Speaks only of the because this passage speaks only of
the church, Corporately,as the residence of God” (Craig Blomberg ,1994:81). The
christians are primarily God’s temple when they are in community, not as isolated
individuals. (SCOH Nash,2009:115). This does not detract away from the
significance of being individually indwelt with God’s spirit, but rather shows that
the nature of this indwelling is meant to be communal There is a unity in Paul’s
interest “ in the glorification of God through both the embodied person and the
corporate body” (Nijay K.Gupta,2010 :5031).When the people of God gather
together for worship the presence of God is magnified and mine fully present as a
result. First Corinthians shows that the Apostle Paul believed this doctoring
concerning the spiritual temple of God to be one of the foundational traits of the
new testament church.
Another importance passage from the latters of paul on the topic of the temple
is found in second Corinthians chapter six .At the beginning of the letter, Paul
gives all important framework for how he understands the relationship between
the old Testament promises and Christ. He says that “all the promises of God find
their fulfillment in him”(2 corinth1:20). Kruse Comments on this text that the “Old
Testament contains many promises of God concerning the messianicage. Not one
of this will failed to find it fulfillment in Christ .(colin G. Kruse, 1987:75).
 The number of promises Christ fulfils are many , But the most abvious that
paul has the mind are those that is going to address in the remainder of the epistle.
(Beale, 253). He often makes it very plain by citing the promise he has in mind and
applying it to an actual situation or topic that he is teaching the Corinthians.
A few chapters later, Paul tells the Christians to not be “unequaqlly joked with
unbelievers” (6:14). He then ask rhetorical questios to draw out the differences
between Christians and unbelievers he contrasts righteousness and lawlessness,
light and darkness and Christ and belial (claim by saying :2 corinth 6:14 -15) the
obvious answer to each of the question is that they do not have anything in
common . The finial question and statement are appropriate to the present topic
. Paul ask “what agreement has the temple of God with idol? And then he makes
the positive declaration that “We are the temple of the living God” (6.16). The
Greek word used here for temple (vabe) does not refer broadly to the overall
physical building, but to the “Sanctuary, the most sacred part of the temple”.
(Ralph P. Martin 1986:202) Paul equates the most holy place of the Old Testament
with the church as a spiritual reality. Martin summarizes paul’s great claim by
saying “the holy of holies was the dwelling of the divine presence in the
tabernacle , God has a dwelling place in the new age ,namely the chosen people
“(martins ,214)
This adds great weight to Paul’s argument to not be unequally joked with
unbelievers. It the Christians are truly the temple of God , then it clearly would be
wrong to unite something unclean to it or bring an idol into it .The old Testament
understanding the temple would set the precedent what has been made holy
in it to be in God’s presence and anything else would defile it. Yet we must
remember that Paul’s in discussing being “unequally joked”. Which is referring to
relationship that have a certain depth ,quality or commitment that is not fitting .
Immediately Following Paul’s declaration that “we due the temple of the living
God’s References multiple Old Testament promises to prove this point: “I will
make my dwelling among them and work among them , and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people. Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate
from them, the Lord, and touch no unclean ,thing then I will welcome you, And I
will be a father to you, and you shall be son and daughters to me says the lord
Almighty.
 Paul combines several different passages (Lev.26:11-12; Ezek. 20:34; 37:26-
27: 2 Sam.7:14) to show the variety of promises that find their fulfillment In the
New Testament Church being the temple. God dwells in their midst and the
requirement that inevitably sets on the people one of holiness and purity, Christ
originally fulfilled these promises and because of his work, the church also
partakes and because of his work ,. The Church also partakes in the fulfilment. The
church in the beginning of the eschatological expectation of the temple”which will
one day be fully realized (baele 256).In the book of Ephesians, the clearest
teaching on the temple takes place jews and gentiles. Paul connects the new temple
to the great end of “the bringing together Jews and Gentiles in shared worship of
God” (Craig’s Keener, 2009:75). He begins by reminding the Gentiles of their
spiritual state before the coming of Christ and then discusses the riches that are
now theirs. He tells them that they were “separated from Chirst , alienated from
the common wealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no
hope and without God in the world” (EPH. 2:12). Essentially, they could not have
been at a lower place spiritually than what they lower place spiritually then what
they were before the coming of Christ striking part of thing statement shows the h
the unity of the promises of God in the old and testament. Isreal’s
history ,although ,darking by typed with the present of god and all the sin ,was
blessings that brought .A parallel in made hunter the gentiles between that forme
God panalleln is made then for the Gentiles between them being apart from Christ
and being separated from the people of Israel. (Andrew T. Lincoln, 1990:136).
Them being apart from Christ and being separated from the people of Israel.
(Andrew. T. Lincoln, 1990 136).
The Gentiles had considerably limited access to God temple presence
because they were not part of or among the people of Israel in any spiritually or
culturally significant way. “But now in Christ Jesus you who were once far off
have been brought near by the blood of Christ”. (2:13). Through Christ the
Gentiles have been brought near to God where they can know and enjoy his
presence. It is no longer through the savior that was promised to their nation.
Christ has made peace between the Gentiles and Jews by making them one and
breaking down the “dividing wall” through the cross of Christ (2;14- 16). Kruse
states the significance of the dividing wall in relation to the temple. “There had
always been a middle wall of partition; a dividing wall, between the two. There
was a barrier both literally and spiritually. In Jerusalem, between the temple proper
and the Court of the Gentiles, there was an inscription in Greek and Latin which
forbade any foreigner to go in, under pain of death’----. Christ had now broken
down the barrier between Jews and Gentiles, of which that dividing wall in the
temple was at the heart of the division between Jews and Gentiles before the
coming of Christ and with the coming the temple has now become the heart of the
unity that exists between Jesus and Gentiles. It is through Jesus that both have
access “in one Spirit to the Father (2:18).
Paul then states that the Gentiles are “fellow citizens” and ‘members of the
household of God’ (2;19) which begins his mine focused teaching on the Church as
the temple. The notion of household carries a double meaning in this passage. It
certainly has the idea of the intimacy in the family relationship that now exists for
the Gentiles in their relationship with God and by extension with all other
Christians.
However, the word “household” that is used in this text can also mean
“house” or “temple” which given the verses that follow, shows that this family
relationship takes place in the context of God’s glorious presence among his
people (Peter. T. Obrien 1999; 212). The worship of the children of God takes
place in this spiritual “house” that Paul describes. The Gentiles now have the same
standing as the Jews in the place of God’s Temples with no restrictions or
partitions.
In Corinthians 3:11, Paul says that Christ is the foundation, but now Paul
says that the church is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ
is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being
the cornerstone” (2:20). In the New Testament, Christ is just said to be the temple
itself, then he is said to be both the foundation and also the cornerstone of the
temple. These differences are not sign of inconsistencies, but rather a different
handling of the same metaphor. ( Foulkes 86). That is not to say, however that the
meaning is different. In Corinthians 3, Paul viewed himself and fellow leaders as
builders and in our passage here he views them as stones, in the building, Christ is
the foundation in the previous passage and the cornerstone in this. In both cases,
Christ is at the very center of which everything else is built upon and aligned from.
The last thing Paul is trying to do is claim that thing Paul is trying to do is claim
that apostles and prophets replace Christ as the foundation (Foulkes, 87).
As Jews and Gentiles are joined together in Christ they “grow into a holy temple in
the Lord” and are “built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit ( 2:21-
22). These are the most direct verses in Ephesians that speak of the church as the
temple and the nature of that temple being the intention is for the temple to keep
expanding to more and more people until it fills the entire earth, which we have
seen has been God’s intention since the beginning of Genesis. It is also intended to
grow in its degree of the holiness so as to become a more fitting dwelling place of
God and one that magnifies his presence to the world. “Expansion comes from
evangelism and growth in spiritual maturity. “(Jason Hood, 2011:303). The temple
in the book, of Ephesians is at the center of what it means to be the united people
of God in the new covenant.
The Temple in the Book of Hebrews
The book of Hebrews discusses the topic of the temple more than any other book
of the New Testament, which requires our examination to be more focused on the
point that relate most directly to the overall dissertation. It uses the word. “tent” or
“tabernacle” rather than temple, but it contains the meaning of all that we have said
about the temple as we shall see.
The book of Hebrews takes many of the Old Testament people, offices, and
places and show how Christ is greater than all of them for the sake of brevity our
analysis of Hebrew will focus primarily on two main topic related to the present
observation first the heavenly temple is the prototypical or model of which the old
testament temples and tabernacle were fashioned after second, that Christ is greater
than the old testament priesthood, which gives the church a greater confidence to
enter the presence of God than those who lived before them.
The book Hebrew’s talks about a tabernacle “not made with hands, that is, not of
this Creation” (Heb. 9:11) of which the tabernacle that Moses erected was but “a
Copy and Shadow of the heavenly things “(88). The earthly and heavenly contrasts
in Hebrews are not philosophical or dualistic in nature, but eschatological (William
Lane, 1991:208) The contrast is meant to show the relationship between that which
existed in Israel and that which exists in Christ. The two are not opposed to each
other but rather one is a copy or shadow and the other in the real thing. Even
though a copy is not the real thing, it gives some idea of what the original is
like(Donald Guthrie 1983: 172) shadow, despite having some glory, was but a faint
picture of the real thing due to the nature of being a shadow. The writer of
Hebrews cites Exodus 25:40 to show when Moses built the tabernacle he was told
“See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown on you on
the mountain”. The New Testament temple as realized in Christ and his church is
not just the fulfillment of the Old Testament tabernacle was patterned after from
the beginning.
When Moses led the people of Israel in constructing the tabernacle for God’s
presence to dwell in, he was building it based on a heavenly tabernacle that ahd not
been fully realized. The rituals of the Old temple were pictures and symbols of that
which actually took place in the “Ultimate Reality” of Christ (Donald Hagnes,
1990: 117). Clowney states this important truth when he says “In Christ is
realization. It is not so much that Christ fulfills what the temple means, rather
Christ is the meaning for which the temple existed.” (Edmund P. Clowney,
1973;177). It is not that the temple already existed so God sent a Savior to operate
in similar ways and describe his work in comparable language. Rather, the
heavenly temple that already existed would one day be fully realized in Christ.
Israel tabernacle’s were fashioned after and were meant to point towards that that
would take place greater realization in Christ
Closely connected to this idea of the temple is the priesthood of Christ. In
fact the passages we have looked at that discuss the true native the temple are all
found amidst statements on the priestly work or ministry of Christ (8:1-6; 9:11,24).
Christ is repeatedly referred to as a “high priest” (5;1;9:11), of which he is shown
to be greater than all of Israel’s high priest. The earthly high priest had to offer
sacrifices repeatedly year after year, but Christ only had to offer one sacrifice (9:
25-28). The former high priests could only enter the Most Holy place once a year
(9; 7), but Christ has entered the greater holy place at the right hand of God in
heaven forever (9: 12, 24). The chief characteristics of a priest is “one who brings
men near to God and in doing so makes the church a holy dwelling place for God.
More than any other section of the New Testament, Hebrews discusses him
the work of Christ in his death and resurrection relates to the new temple and the
Old Testament temple that was patterned after it. Perhaps the most obvious
relationship is that the sacrifices in the Old Testament were all patterned after and
pointed towards the sacrifice. It was not with “the blood of goats and calves but by
means of his own blood”(9;12) that he secured the eternal redemption of his
people. The temporary nature of the previous sacrifices was a shadow of the
sacrifices of Christ that was “perfect in nature and eternal in effect”. (F.F Bruce,
1990; 214). The efficiency of this sacrifice is found in the great worth of the one
that was sacrificed. “It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away
sins”. (10:4), but the blood of Christ brings forgiveness of sins (9:22), purification
of conscience (9:14) and salvation (9;28). It is this priesthood of Christ in both his
sacrificial death and present intercession that gives Christians” Confidence to enter
the holy places (10:19). He is the “great high priest over the house of God” that
gives them faith, near to God (10:21-22). In the book of Hebrew, Christ is shown
to be greater than the temple the priesthood and all the sacrifices of the old
Testament in every way possible. It is through the atoning work of Christ in his
death and resurrection that the Church gains access into the presence of God and
can draw near in full assurance.
Thus we see that the New Testament speaks of the churches as the new
temple of God using a variety of language and applies this doctrine to the
situations of specific champions. The variety does not produce disunity, but rather
more complete picture of what the new dwelling place of God looks like and what
it is founded upon, namely Christ. This new temple began at Pentecost when the
Holy Spirit poured out on the Church in a greater measure than any previous point
in redemptive history. It was this new understanding of the temple that welcomed
Gentile into aspects of worship that were previously limited to only the Jews. It
united these two groups of people that were once segregated. Paul used this temple
theology as a foundation to his teaching on important topics like holiness worship,
relationship, leadership etc. This new temple was made possible because was the
priesthood and sacrifice of Christ; which the Old Testament pointed towards in its
various temple practices and roles.
The church in the New Testament spiritual temple of God that will carry out
the mission to expand his presence to more, and more people until it fills the entire
cosmos.
As we Close study, we shall examine the various characteristics of the New
Testament temple – the church.
The early Christians identified themselves as the temple of God, which had a
propound impact on the way they now worshipped and functioned as a religious
community. The Church was not primarily a physical structure, but a spiritual
structure made of individual Christians that together formed the dwelling place of
God. The worship of Judaism and other ancient religions were centered on a
specific physical building such as a temple or Synagogue, but Christianity was
largely defined around a community of believers. Likewise, a professional or
separate priesthood was central to the function and sustainment of ancient
religions, but the church did not have class of people. in In fact it believed in the
priesthood of all believers bet (Peter 2:5). A sacrificial system was paramount to
the worship of Judaism and paganism, but the early Church did not offer any
sacrifices in their times of worship. Although, celebrating a sacrifice that was made
once and for all by Christ way at the very center. Christ was the ultimate temple,
priest and sacrifice of which all the Old Testament was patterned after. The
significance of this change cannot be overstated in its implications for the worship
of God’s people. Frank Viola has asserted: “Christianity was the first non-temple-
based religion ever to emerge. In the minds of the early Christians, the people not
the architecture constituted a sacred space. ( Frank Viola and Crearge Barna, 2008:
11). It is the worship and community life of this sacred people that will be
examined.

The New Temple as Ecclesia:

It is beneficial to examine how the word “church”, or ecclesia, is used in the New
Testament as it refers to the assembling of the saints. It is used in but most relevant
most to our discussion here is how the on the Apostle Paul uses it in relation to the
community he is addressing. The emphasis on community life in the early church
is in many ways lost in our individualist age. When someone the gospel of Jesus
Christ, they were automatically included in this new community called the church.
Christianity is not merely a personal relationship with jesus, but also carries with
of a great emphasis on a new social or communal dimension that is simultaneously
created when one puts their faith in jesus
Robert Banks states that Paul’s use of ekklesia typically refers to “a regular, local
gathering before, God” (Robert Banks, 1980:35)in his first Letter to the Christians
in Thessalonica he begins his greetings to the church of the Thessalonians God
Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ” (1:1) The term ekklesia was not a new term
created by Paul or the early church. Paul uses the term in the same manner that
would have been used to describe the assembly of Greeks or Jews (Robert banks,
1980:30).
Later in the letter, Paul commands the letter to be read to all the Christians and
also that the readers should” Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss” (5:26-27). This
furthers the idea that paul has in mind an actual gathering of Christians or that the
Christian church can be taught of as a “regularly-gathering “community”

In another letter Paul refers to the church in the plural as the churches of God” (1
Thess 1:4) and the “churches of Judge” (Gall: 22). This suggests that Paul has in
view an actual gathering of people. The new temple is precisely that when it
gathers before God for the purpose of worship. The ecclesia of the New Testament
is largely characterized by this gathering that took place in Romes.
The Place of Worship:
 The early church did not Have any building that Constituted a temple or
performed the function of a dedicated space solely for worship. There was no
attempt to build a Christian equivalent of the synagogue or to Christianize the
existing structures paul spent much time in the jewish Synagogues attempting to
convince the Jew’s that Jesus was the Christ (Acts 9:20,13:5) but this never led to
the development” of Christian Synagogues. It is possible that it was due to the lack
of total success in conversion, but the fact remains unchanged. The worship of the
early church took place not in any Spectacular temples or dedicated Synagogues,
but in the common place ordinary homes. Paul frequently refers to churches
meeting houses,Which are typically found. Among his Greeting: Greet also the
church in their house” (1 corrinth16:19) Give my greetings to the brother at
Laodicea and to Nympha and the church in the house” (philem1:1-2) The only time
paul refers to a place in association with the church meeting place it is always a
house. There ils never a command to meet in homes but it was the normal at this
point in history.
Snycler has stated that “There is no literacy evidence nor archaeological
indication that any such home was converted into an extant church that certainly
was built prior constantine (Graydon F Snyder 1985:67)
The overall consensus is that the vast majority of church gatherings took place in
the house of believer until the third or fourth century. There is some disagreement
with aspect of syncler’s claim a many scholarship. For instance, Adam agrees in
the primary of the home as the meeting place of early Christian’s but denies the
claim that they were the exclusive meeting place. (Edward Adams,2015:10). He
shows the unpleasantanbility that 120 people were able to meet in a domestic
house on the day of Pentecost. (Edward Adams 2015:56). He also argues for an
earlier state on the converting of houses to church building by citing the christain
building at dura Europe, in modern day Syrice, which evidence points to be
converted sometime between 232 and 23. (Edward Adams,2015:95) Regardless of
exact dates and alternative possibilities, there is little doubt that the home ws the
gathering place of the majority of early Christian gatherings.

In the second century work, the octavious of minucius Felix, we have a

recorded accusation against Christians that have no altars, no temple” (Alexander
Robert, cd, 2007:178). As we mentioned previously the norm of ancient religious
resolved around temple, priests and sacrifices. It was this deviation from the norm
that led even to accusation by some that the Christians were even atheists. The
home did not seem sacred enough as a place for worship to the ancient mind.
Likewise, the earlier writing of the Epistle of Barnabas confirms there was no
longer a physical temple, but now a “spiritual temple built for the Lord”. One
clarification that should be made is that there is nowhere in scripture a command
for people to meet in homes. Jesus told the woman at the well that the hour is now
here when the worshippers of God will not worship in a specific location, but
instead worship “in Spirit and truth” (John 4; 21-22). It would be a great tenor to
identify the home as a new temple or Synagogue. New Testament worship places
its great emphasis on the how and what of worship, not the where. The early
Church was not concerned about the place of worship, because it understood the
people, not place, to be the dwelling place of God.

The Temple and the Supper;

While physical location was not a main concern for worship, there were
certainly still benefits to the church meeting in homes. Bradley Blue has stated:
The early believers met in houses not by default alone, but deliberately because the
house setting provided the facilities which were of paramount importance. For
example, the culinary appurtances necessary for the meal”. (Bradley Blue,
1994:121)
The meal that we will examine in a moment would need a place for
preparation which the home could provide for. The home also gave the believers
the ability to have their gatherings more private and out of the public eye, which
likely helped it be tolerated longer in places like Rome. The home was not the
place for gathering, but it certainly served as the ideal location due to the nature of
the gatherings and the Cultural Context.
One early of the primary things that the early church did together when they
gathered was share a meal together. This was not done at random or simply out of
necessity but rather was a profound “physical expression to its fellowship”.
(Banks, 83). Meals were extremely significant in the times of Church which can
even be seen in the accusations Jesus received for eating with tax collectors and
sinners (Matt-9:11). This “table fellowship” during the first century was extremely
significant to cultures in the Mediterranean basin because of what it symbolized
(Joel B Green and Scot McKnight, 1992:796).The very act of sharing a meal
together was a symbol of friendship and relational depth, which is quite profound
considering the diversity of people that made up the early church. People that once
did not associate together at all due to social economic or religious barriers were
now fellowshipping together over a meal. Another aspect that would have been
especially surprising to a first century outsider would have been the lack of status
driven seating arrangements (Robert. J. Banks, 1990:17). James harshly rebuked
the church for this very thing in his letter by saying; “If you pay attention to the
one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place, while you
say to the poor man, “You stand even there or sit down at my past have you not
then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts”
(James 2:3-4)? The new temple is not made up of new up of stones that is their
worth based on their status in the world. Rather, this new community breaks down
the barriers that once divided people.
The New Testament does not speak on the nature of the meal in great details,
or even the gatherings in general for that matter, but we do get a basic
understanding as to what it would have looked like. Jude gives a very brief
indication of the nature of these metals when he refers to them as “love feasts”
(Jude 1:12). In I Corinthians 11 Paul discusses the Lord’s Supper and the issues
that were going on in the Corinthian church surrounding this meal. Some were
overindulging to the point of even getting drunk, while others were going hungry
as a result of the others overindulgence (11:21). In the midst of his correction of
the Corinthian church we get some clues about the meal. The phrase “when you
come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper that you eat” seems imply typical part of
coming together consisted of the meal.
The Lord’s Supper, as indicated by the Greek word “deipnon” (“Supper”),
was not a “token meal or part of a meal” but simply the meal itself. (R. J. Banks,
1990: 84). It refers to the evening meal near the end of the day, which one
generally invited guests to Paul’s corection to the Corinthians to “eat at home” if
they are hungry is indication that Lord’s Supper was from the separate from the
regular meal. Rather, he was rebuking the abuses that were occurring around king
normal meal at Corinth. The customary meal in Jewish homes consisted of
breaking bread as a way commencing the meal and the taking of the cup of wine as
the conclusion. It was standard practice that the bread and the wine world each
have a separate blessing. (Everett Ferguson, 2003; 561).
The obvious difference in the Christian meal world have been in regards to
the prayers and blessings that took place during took and the significant event that
this meal was now attached to. An example of the words used during the meal is
likely found in the verses of Paul in this same passage; “For I received from the
Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was
betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is
my body which is for you Do this in remembrance of me. In the same way also he
took the cup, after supper, saying Covenant in my “This cup is the new covenant in
my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as
you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
(1 Corinth 11:23-26). The Lord’s Supper was a normal meal that was patterned
after the Last Supper of Jesus. In particular it recounted the events of the last meal
Jesus shared with his disciples and served as a remembrance of Jesus’ death on
their behalf. Eating the bread and drinking the wine served as a proclamation of
what Jesus had done and at the same time pointed forward to his second coming
The reference to the covenant shows that the benefits that the believers have
as a result of the death of Jesus, which is a relationship with God and each other.
The bread and wine serve as bookends for the fellowship the meal in between.
Banks comments on this text that the events in between the taking of the bread at
the beginning and the wine at the end “now become all the more appropriate, for
between them, lies the experience of that new relationship in the course of the
meal… It is as the members of the community eat and drink together that their
unity comes to visible expression. (Banks, 86.) central to the worship of this
“temple-less” religion was the fellowship that occurred around the Lord’s Supper
in the ordinary homes of believers.

The Temple and Prayer.

One of the major indictments of Jesus against the temple that stood in his
day was that it was meant to be a house of prayer for all the nations “but the Jews
had made it a den of robbers (Mark 11:17). Unlike the physical temple in Jesus’
time, the new temple that was the church was largely characterized by prayer in its
beginning. Beale articulates the relationship of the new temple and prayer when he
says, “the role of prayer is enhanced for Christians who now are identified with
Jesus through the Spirit as part of the offering and they function as priests by
offering up prayers in the sphere of the spiritual temple (Beale, 2004:397).
Throughout the book of Acts we see a church that is deeply committed to prayer.
After the ascension of Christ the disciples “with one accord were devoting
themselves to prayer “(Acts 1:14). After thousands of were converted at Pentecost,
they devoted themselves to the teachings of the apostles, fellowship with one
another , eating meals together, and end of a sermon but something that the entire
churc devoted itself to carrying out the priestly function.
This theme of prayer continues throughout the book of Acts as the norm for
the Church. The church prays for boldness when the political leaders command
that they no longer speak about Jesus (Acts 4:23-31).Peter and the apostles
appointed seven men to serve in daily food distribution the so that they could
instead devote themselves to prayer and the ministry of the word. (Acts 6:4). When
Peter was put in prison, the writer States that “earnest prayer for him was made to
God by the Church” (Acts 12:5). Even at the time that he was later set free by the
angel we are told that “many were gathered together and were praying at the house
of Mary (Acts 12:12). Before making major decisions or appointing leader the
Church would pray (Act 13:3, 14:23). Prayer is especially made in times of
difficulty as when Paul and Silas are in Prison (Acts 16:25) or later at Paul’s threat
of being ship wrecked (Acts 27:29). Or cannot read the book of Acts without being
struck by how much the church prayed, which is in accord with the temple identity
discussed thus far.
The Epistle continues where Acts left off and show fort that the church
ought to be characterized by Prayer. (Rev. 5:8, 8: 3-5). James says to “pray for one
another” because the prayer of as it is working “(James 5: 16). He elaborates that
prayer should be made in all the various times of life such as suffering, sickness
and even cheerfulness (Acts 5: 13-14). Peter was concerned that husbands and
wives live in such a way so that their “prayers may not be hindered” (1 Pet. 3: 7).
He goes on to say that all of life should be lived in a “self-controlled and sober
minded” way so that it does inhibit their prayers (1 Pet. 4: 7). The Apostle Paul
speaks on the topic prayer more than any other New Testament author. He often
talks about his own prayers (Col.1:3, Phil; 14), but is also concerned with the
prayer life of the church. He wrote about his desire “that in every place the men
should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling”(1 Tim 2:8). He tells
the church to “be constant in prayers” (Rom. 12:12) “continue steadfastly in
prayer” (col.4:2) without causing” (1 Thess 5:17). The early church was a place
where prayer was prized and viewed as something that could not be lived without.
The effectiveness of its ministry and expansion throughout the earth was dependent
on the prayers of the people deeply committed to Prayer. The New Testament
church fulfilled the prayer role of the temple by being a people deeply committed
to prayer
 The Temple and Righteous Living:
As we examined in our study of the Old Testament temple one of the
requirements to draw near to the temple of God is that one must be righteous or
holy before God. Referencing Leviticus 11:44, Apostle Peter stated that “as he
Apostle who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is
written, You Shall be holy for I am holy (l Pet. 1:15-16). It is only the pure in heart
that “shall see God” (Matt 5:8), and there is a holiness without which no one will
see the Lord” (Heb. 12:14). The dwelling place of God required holiness on the
part of all who would draw near. It is not through the individuals own
righteousness that they are able to draw near to God but rather though the free gift
gives it of righteousness that he his people (Rom 5:17). Yet, even as justified even
believers it is necessary for Christians to practice holiness any for them to have an
ongoing sense of the presence of God. Jesus told his early disciples “whoever
abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears by life. (Epistle of Mathetes to
Diognetus, 2016).
The picture is painted here of Christians that are good citizens and loving
neighbors regardless of how they are treated. They have laws that they live by that
surpass those of the state and their morals differ so much from the surrounding
culture that they are even attractive. They share the common meal together, but
have a unique devotion to be a biblically grounded view of marriage and children.
The claims that they love even their enemies and bless those who revive or punish
them echo’s Jesus’ teaching from the sermon on the Mount (Matt 5:11; 38-42;b43-
45). Thus, it was the righteous and the holy living of the early Church as the
temple of God that was an apologetic to these it witnessed to.
THE TEMPLE AND EXPANSION:
Here, the early church understood that its mission was to make disciples of
all nations (Matt 28:19), which would expand the presence of God to more and
more people throughout the earth. This expansion would only take place through
the sacrifices made the people of God, which find very clear examples of in the
New Testament. The book of Act also shows that part of the purpose of the central
authority of the Jerusalem church was to exercise oversight over the Gentiles
mission. (Richard Bauckham, 1995: 450) The early Christians in Jerusalem
sacrificed their own lives for the sake of this mission as seen in the deaths of both
Stephen and James(Acts 7:60;12:12). As the spiritual temple spread from
Jerusalem to other regions, if would be accompanied with these same types for
sufferings.
Another examples of this is in the great labours of the Apostle Paul
throughout his missionary journeys and preaching of the gospel under great
persecution. Paul appeals to his reader to offer themselves as a living sacrifice to
God (Rom, 12:1). He speaks of the extent of his ministry in the language of
sacrifice when he saya,”even, if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon
sacrificial offering of your faith” ( Phil 2:17) and “ I am already being poured out
as a drink offering” (2 Tim,4:6). Paul even goes as far as to say that the sufferings
the experience in his body “ fill up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions”( Cols
1:24). Paul is not referring to anything lacking in Christ’s work on behalf of his
people to secure their salvation.
Rather, he is referring to the affliction that still must be endure for the to the
Gentile nations to be completed the ministry that Paul and other leaders undertook
required great sacrifice on their part.
However, this mission was not only advanced by the sacrifices of apostles and
missionaries but also in the sacrifices normal Christian as they prayed for the
success of the mission, invited outsiders to their household gatherings and through
their financial support of missionaries. Beale states that the mark of the time
church is an expanding witness to the presence of God: first to our families then to
others in the church, then to our neighborhood, then to our city, then the country
and ultimately the whole earth”. ( G.K Beale,401). The presence of God was
powerfully exhibited in the early church and it is this mark that led to the rapid
expansion of the spiritual temple of God throughout ancient world.

The Final End Time temple

Our study has examined the historical development of the temple from the time of
genesis up to the first century era of the early Christian church. However, the bible
also depicts the future of the temple in its final pages. Revelation 21:1-22:5 gives a
description of the final events in history which include. “a new heaven and a new
earth” and a “new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven” (rev 21:1 -2) the
surprising aspects in that the new heaven and earth is only described in it
connection to this city which has both temple and garden characteristics.
(G.K.Beale,2004:23-24). Much like Solomon temple, there is mansion of precious
stones that are the foundation of the wall of the city (21:18-21). It is also said that
“its length and width and height are equal” (21:16). First as the inner sanctuary of
Solomon temple was equal in length, width and height (1 kings 6:20) another
similarity is that no unclean person or thing in ever allow to enter into the city
temple (rev 21:27). In terms of garden qualities we read about the tree of life that is
for the healing of the nations (22:2) and the river of life that flows from the throne
of God (22:1). This city temple is equated to being the same thing as the new
heaven and earth.
In revelation 21:22, the Apostle John states that he “saw no temple in the
city for its temple in the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb”. There is no need
for a physical temple in the new heavens and earth because the presence of God
that previously only dwelled in specific places of creation and later in this people
the church has now been expanded throughout the entire creation. Beale
summarizes this point by stating “the Revelation 21 vision is best understood as
picturing the final end time temple that will fill the entire cosmos. The final picture
in the Bible shows the fulfillment of what God purposed to do from the very
beginning, namely, as the spiritual temple of God, the early church lived and
worshipped in ways that were radically different from their ancient counterparts.
They had no designated place of worship to call a temple, so they instead met in
the homes of ordinary believers. They had no professional priesthood but instead
viewed every members of the community as a priest to carry out the work of God.
Sacrifices were no longer necessary because their God was sacrificed on their
behalf to bring reconciliation. They remembered this sacrifice as they gathered for
a meal that was the Lord’s supper with one another consistently.
The breaking of bread and the beginning of the taking of wine at the end
pointed back to the body and blood of Jesus. It cannot be overstated how much the
early Christians were devoted to prayer and that they expected God to do great
things in response to their prayers. Finally, as they were propelled by prayer they
sacrificed their own lives and comforts for the sake of the mission that the Lord
Jesus gave them, which was really the mission from the first pages of Genesis. The
new community expanded the spiritual temple of God throughout the earth by
making disciples of all nations. It was their identity as this spiritual temple that
gave a profound shape to the community itself. It is this temple that will continue
until the final temple in established that completely fills the heavens and the earth.
RESEARCH DESIGN.
The study uses survey research design to evaluate the temple of God and the early
Christian church. According to Nworgu (2006), survey research design ensures
that a group of people or items, is studied by collecting and analyzing data from
only few people or items considered being representative of the group, being
randomly selected. It uses a questionnaire to determine the opinions, preferences,
attitudes and perception of people about issues that concerns them.
A survey design is suitable for this study because it will make use of
questionnaires to get information from the respondents. The study makes use of
primary data from the information obtained from the distribution of research
questionnaires. The researcher made use of a total population of 150, being
randomly selected from among clergies/ ministers of the gospel, biblical scholars
and theologians in Lagos State.
The questionnaires were provided to the randomly selected respondents who
will tick responses based on either Yes or No, and have been assured of the
confidentiality of the information supplied.
The validity and rehabilitee of the instrument was considered valid and
reliable because it was determined by the expert judgement of the Project
Supervisors.
The judgement is to ensure that each of the instrument measured what it was
supposed to measure on the topics. “The temple of God and the early Christian
church”.

Method/Techniques of Data Collection

The instruments for data collection used by the researcher in questionnaire,
while the respondents provided the responses which are the data.
The questionnaire administered to the respondents, some would be
completed and returned immediately while some will be collected few days later.
Method of Data Analysis:
 In analyzing the data collected, the researcher made use of simple percentage
score of data analysis. In this regards, the conclusion made in respect of each
question was dependent on the responses that was the highest percentage.
Formula for Calculating Simple percentage Score of Data analysis:
PR 100
Q= N × 1 , where

Q = Percentage Score.
P = Percentage of responses
R = Number of responses
N = Total number of responses.
The hypothesis was tested using chi square.
Formula for calculating the chi square (X2):
∑( f o – f e)
X2 =
fe
X2 = Chi square
fo = Observed frequency
fe = Expected frequency
∑ = Summarization of frequencies.