Refining Paul’s Theology

The following is an AI generated essay. However, the ideas influencing the essay are my own. To save time I will often use AI to compress my ideas into essay form, which I can then refer to later. In my opinion that is one of the ways to correctly use AI. And this blog is as good a place as any to post it.

Paul, Israel, Adam, and the Nations

A Second Temple Jewish Logic of Election, Atonement, and New Creation

Introduction

The apostle Paul is often portrayed as the architect of a new, universal religion that abandoned Israel’s particular story in favor of a generalized theology of salvation. Historically, this portrayal is misleading. Paul understood himself not as departing from Israel’s scriptures, but as re-reading them under the pressure of a single, destabilizing event: the resurrection of Jesus.

This essay argues that Paul’s theology is best understood as a carefully balanced synthesis of three narrative layers already present in Second Temple Judaism:

Creation (Adam and humanity)
Covenant (Israel and Torah)
Eschatology (Messiah and resurrection)

Paul’s inclusion of Gentiles does not bypass Israel, nor does it flatten Jewish categories into abstraction. Instead, it follows a coherent internal logic in which Israel remains central, Adam explains humanity’s universal plight, and Jesus stands at the intersection of both stories.

1. Temple Judaism and the Limits of Atonement

In the First and Second Temple periods, Israelites did not believe their sacrifices directly atoned for the sins of the nations. Temple sacrifice was:

Covenantal (for Israel)
Geographically and cultically located (land, sanctuary, priesthood)
Purificatory, especially for Israel’s sin and the sanctuary polluted by it

Gentiles could offer sacrifices, and the Temple was seen as the cosmic center sustaining order for the whole world, but this benefit was indirect. The nations were not cleansed of sin simply because Israel offered sacrifice.

This distinction is crucial. Later Christian claims of universal atonement represent a genuine theological shift, not a straightforward continuation of Temple belief.

2. Paul’s Scriptural Justification: Not Innovation, but Re-reading

Paul knew his claims were radical. He therefore grounded them explicitly in Israel’s scriptures.

Abraham before Torah

Paul emphasizes that Abraham was declared righteous before circumcision and before the Law (Genesis 15:6). This allowed Paul to argue that:

Covenant faithfulness could precede Torah
Gentile inclusion was not an afterthought, but anticipated from the beginning

Deuteronomy’s Curse Logic

Paul reads Deuteronomy’s warnings seriously. Israel’s failure under Torah places her under covenant curse (exile). Jesus’ crucifixion—“hanging on a tree”—forces a re-reading of Deuteronomy 21:23. For Paul:

The Messiah bears the curse on behalf of Israel
The Law is not evil; sin exploits it
The curse must be lifted before Abraham’s blessing can flow outward

Resurrection as the Turning Point

Paul’s theology does not pivot on Jesus’ death alone, but on resurrection. Resurrection signals:

The beginning of the age to come
The defeat of death
The vindication of Jesus as Messiah

Without resurrection, Paul explicitly says his gospel collapses.

3. Why Gentiles Needed Justification

Gentiles were not under the Mosaic Law. So why, according to Paul, did they need salvation?

The Adamic Problem (Romans 5)

Paul’s answer is Adam.

Sin and death enter the world through Adam
Death reigns over all humanity before the Law
The Law intensifies sin but does not create it

This allows Paul to distinguish:

Israel’s problem: covenantal failure under Torah
Humanity’s problem: enslavement to sin and death through Adam

Gentiles are condemned not as Torah-breakers, but as creatures who have misused creation and fallen under the power of death.

4. Adam and Israel: Parallel Stories

Second Temple Jews already recognized parallels between Adam and Israel:

Adam	Israel
Placed in Eden	Placed in the land
Given a command	Given Torah
Warned of death	Warned of exile
Exiled eastward	Exiled among nations

Paul does not reduce Adam to Israel, nor Israel to Adam. Instead:

Adam is the prototype
Israel is the recapitulation
Christ is the resolution of both

Jesus succeeds where both Adam and Israel fail—not by abandoning Israel’s story, but by embodying it faithfully.

5. Two Problems, One Messiah

Paul’s theology can be summarized as addressing two distinct curses:

The curse of the Law (Israel’s covenantal failure)
The curse of Adam (humanity’s enslavement to death)

Jesus’ death and resurrection deal with both, but not in the same way.

As Israel’s Messiah, Jesus bears the Law’s curse
As representative human, Jesus undoes Adam’s reign of death

The order matters: Adam is resolved through Israel’s Messiah.

6. Paul’s Chiasmic Logic of Election

Paul’s theology of election can be expressed as a dynamic narrowing and widening:

Out of the world God chose Israel
…Out of Israel God chose a remnant
……Out of the remnant God brought forth the Messiah
……In the Messiah God formed a faithful remnant
…Through this remnant God remains faithful to Israel
In Israel God brings blessing to the world

This structure preserves:

Israel’s priority
Gentile inclusion
The Messiah as the hinge of history
Election as vocation, not favoritism

Paul explicitly rejects the idea that the remnant replaces Israel. Instead, the remnant is the means by which God remains faithful to Israel, and Israel is the means by which God blesses the nations.

7. Where Later Christianity Breaks with Paul

Paul’s logic often breaks down in later Christianity due to simplification:

Adam Absorbs Everything

Adam becomes the sole explanatory category, while Israel’s covenantal role fades. This flattens Paul’s careful distinction between creation-failure and covenant-failure.

The Law Becomes the Villain

Torah is reinterpreted as legalism rather than gift. This distorts Paul’s claim that the Law is “holy and good.”

Resurrection Loses Centrality

Atonement becomes focused almost entirely on the cross as payment for guilt, rather than resurrection as the defeat of death and the beginning of new creation.

Israel Is Explained Away

Romans 9–11 is sidelined. The church becomes the endpoint rather than the participant in an unfinished story.

These shifts were historically understandable—especially in a Gentile-majority, post-Temple world—but they are not faithful to Paul’s own architecture.

Conclusion

Paul did not abandon Israel, mythologize Adam away, or invent a new religion detached from Jewish scripture. He was a Second Temple Jew who believed that God had acted decisively within Israel’s story to resolve a problem that reached back to Adam and outward to the nations.

For Paul:

Israel remains chosen
Adam explains universal need
Christ stands at the center
Resurrection signals new creation
History is still unfolding

Gentile inclusion is not a detour from Israel’s vocation—it is the goal toward which that vocation always pointed.

Understanding Paul this way does not require agreeing with him. But it does require taking him seriously on his own terms.

***

From Elephantine to Galatia: Understanding Diaspora Judaism and Paul’s Mission

The history of Jewish communities outside Jerusalem reveals a rich diversity of religious practice long before Torah law became universally binding. One of the clearest examples is the Jewish community at Elephantine, a military colony in southern Egypt during the 5th century BCE. Studying Elephantine not only illuminates early diaspora Judaism but also helps us understand the audiences that Paul encountered on his missionary journeys centuries later.

1. The Elephantine Community

Elephantine was a Judahite military colony, stationed on Egypt’s southern frontier before the Persian conquest (c. 525 BCE). Its members were likely Judean soldiers or mercenaries who migrated to Egypt before the major Deuteronomic reforms of the late 7th century BCE. Consequently, their religious practice reflects a pre-exilic, ritual-focused Yahwism:

They had their own temple devoted to YHWH, where priests oversaw sacrifices.
Their daily life and legal documents show partial adherence to Torah traditions, but not full Torah law enforcement.
They interacted with local Egyptians and other peoples, suggesting a degree of cultural flexibility and syncretism.
Notably, their petitions to the Jerusalem priesthood for temple support did not receive clear approval, showing the limits of central authority at the time.

In short, Elephantine Jews were religiously Jewish but socially flexible, practicing a form of Judaism that was ritual-centered rather than text-centered.

2. Why Elephantine Was Eventually Forgotten

By the 2nd century BCE, Judaism had begun a process of centralization and textualization that made communities like Elephantine historically obsolete:

Centralization of worship in Jerusalem made autonomous temples theologically problematic.
Torah law became the definitive marker of Jewish identity, replacing older ritual customs.
Diaspora communities like Elephantine lacked scribal and institutional power, meaning their traditions were not preserved.
As Jerusalem-centered Judaism solidified, communities outside its influence were quietly ignored or absorbed, leading Elephantine to fade from memory.

Elephantine, therefore, provides a snapshot of Judaism before Torah law became normative, illustrating how Jewish identity and practice evolved over centuries.

3. The Emergence of Normative Torah

The transformation from Elephantine-style Judaism to Torah-centered Judaism was largely complete by the 2nd century BCE, driven by historical pressures:

Hellenistic Rule and Seleucid Oppression: Greek culture and political control threatened Jewish religious practices, culminating in Antiochus IV’s desecration of the Jerusalem Temple.
Priestly Corruption and Internal Crisis: Disputes over legitimate leadership and proper observance highlighted the need for a standardized legal framework.
The Maccabean Revolt (167–160 BCE) established Hasmonean rule, making Torah observance state-enforced, not optional.
Diaspora Pressures: Torah law became a marker of identity, distinguishing Jews from surrounding Gentiles.

The result: Torah became binding and normative, defining Jewish identity for the first time in a widespread, enforceable way.

4. Diaspora Jews in Paul’s Time

By the 1st century CE, diaspora Jewish communities still exhibited considerable diversity in Torah observance and cultural assimilation:

Elephantine-type Jews: Highly ritual-centered, partially Torah-observant, integrated into local culture.
Hellenized diaspora Jews (“Greeks” in the NT sense): Some Torah knowledge, varying observance, Greek names and customs, partially assimilated.
Jerusalem-centered Jews: Fully Torah-observant, resistant to Hellenistic influence, centralized around Temple and priesthood.
Gentiles: Non-Jews with no obligation under Torah, often converts to Judaism via proselytism.

This spectrum helps us understand Paul’s ministry: many Jews outside Jerusalem were culturally and religiously flexible, making them receptive to his message of faith in Christ over strict law observance.

5. Paul and the Galatian Audience

In Galatians 3:13, Paul writes:

“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us…”

Here, he addresses an audience that includes diaspora Jews and Gentile converts who were under pressure from “Judaizers” to adopt Torah practices like circumcision. These Jews:

Likely resembled Elephantine-type or Hellenized diaspora Jews, partially observant but culturally integrated.
Faced choices between ritual identity and faith in Christ.
Needed reassurance that salvation did not require full Torah compliance, particularly circumcision, the visible marker of law.

Paul’s argument is historically consistent: he appeals to the flexible, diaspora identity that existed in Jewish communities long before Torah law was universally enforced.

6. Conclusion

The Elephantine community shows us that early Jewish diaspora life was diverse and adaptable. Ritual practice, local temple worship, and flexible law observance were the norm outside Jerusalem. Over centuries, historical pressures—imperial rule, Hellenization, and the Hasmonean consolidation—made Torah law binding and central to Jewish identity. By Paul’s time, many diaspora Jews still embodied the Elephantine-type flexibility, explaining why his gospel could resonate with Jews and Gentiles who were devout but not fully Torah-bound.

Understanding this continuum—from Elephantine to Galatia—illuminates both the historical development of Judaism and the social context of Paul’s missionary work, highlighting how faith and law interacted in a changing world.

***

Eschatological Drift

Theology often adapts to historical events, which helps explain the different views on the end times (eschatology) even among early Christians. For instance, in letters written before the destruction of the Jerusalem temple in AD 70, Paul never links Christ’s return (the Parousia), the resurrection, or judgment to that event. Instead, he focuses on a general, future hope for all believers (e.g., 1 Corinthians 15:23; 1 Thessalonians 4:16), without mentioning the temple, which was still standing at the time.

In contrast, the Synoptic Gospels (Mark, Matthew, and Luke), likely written after the temple was destroyed, directly connect its fall to the Parousia. They portray the temple’s destruction as a sign of coming judgment and a lead-up to Christ’s return (Mark 13:2, 24–27; Matthew 24:2, 29–31; Luke 21:6, 20–28). Even so, they still view the resurrection as a future event, hinted at through symbols like the trumpet (Matthew 24:31) and affirmed in other teachings (Mark 12:25; Matthew 22:30; Luke 20:36).

Later still, the Gospel of John (written around AD 90–100) does not mention the temple’s destruction in relation to the Parousia or resurrection. Instead, it emphasizes a more spiritual or “realized” view of Christ’s presence now, while still affirming a future bodily resurrection (John 5:24–29). This reflects a shift toward a more universal theological perspective, no longer centered on the events of AD 70.

This development—from Paul’s silence on the temple, to the Synoptics’ focus on it, to John’s move beyond it—shows how early Christian beliefs about the end times evolved in response to historical changes.

Romans 911 ~ Saving Israel

A Brief Verse by Verse Inspection of Romans 9-11

9:1-5 — Who is Paul speaking of in this discourse? Mosaic Covenant Israelites (vs. 4), God’s first born son (Exodus 4:22), living in the first century. Paul is not writing about any other group of people living in any other time.

And who is Israel in the first century? We know there were Judaean Israelites (incorrectly translated as “Jews” in our English New Testaments). Judaeans adhered to the Covenant of Moses: circumcision, Torah, and temple worship. Most Judaeans lived in the Roman province of Judea, but there were some living abroad as well. We know that there was the “Dispersion,” also known as “Greeks” (Hellenists), see John 7:35. These Israelites likely consisted of uncircumcised, non-Torah observant peoples living among the Gentiles (see 1 Maccabees 1:11-15). And we know there were descendants of the “lost” ten tribes, also known as Ephraim (see Genesis 48:19; Jeremiah 31:19-20; Ezekiel 37:15-28).

So it is all these people Paul is speaking of when he says, “…my countrymen according to the flesh … to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the [Mosaic] law…” (vs. 4).

Paul laments that so many of Israel, primarily Judaeans, reject his gospel of Jesus Christ.

9:6-13 — Why has not all Israel believed in his gospel? Because, Paul determines, not all Israel is the true Israel. To be of the true Israel, one must be a child of promise, not flesh. Abraham’s wife Sarah was too old to have a child, but yet God promised she would, and she did. Isaac was a child of promise, not flesh.

And again, before Isaac’s two sons were born, God chose which one would carry the purpose of God. This shows that God had an elect group of Israelites to be the recipients of the promise.

9:14-29 — An elect group, before they’ve had any chance to do good or evil? Isn’t that unjust? According to Paul, no. God’s honor and good reputation must be upheld. Paul quotes Exodus 33:19 — God will have mercy and compassion on whom ever He wants.

Earlier in Exodus 33 Moses appealed to God’s honor to ensure that God’s presence would continue to go with Moses and the people: “For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us?” And again later Moses appealed to God’s honor to prevent God from destroying the people: “Now if You kill these people as one man, then the nations which have heard of Your fame will speak, saying, ‘Because the Lord was not able to bring this people to the land which He swore to give them, therefore He killed them in the wilderness.'” (Numbers 14:15-16) Indeed, Paul points out, Pharaoh himself was used by God so that God could display His power, and so that His name would be declared in all the earth.

God hardened Pharaoh’s heart so that He could display His power in bringing His chosen ones out of slavery, and so again, God calling out His “true Israel” from the “Israel of flesh” hardens those who resist Him in order to display His power and to have His name honored in all the earth. The “Israel of flesh” in the first century plays the same role as Pharaoh.

Again, one might ask, “How is this just? Who can escape God’s will?” And Paul’s response is, “Who are you little man to ask such a thing? God is the potter. If He wants to make vessels of wrath/dishonor (Israel of flesh) and vessels of mercy/honor (true Israel), who are you to question that? What if God is doing that to display His glory just as He did bringing Israel out of Egypt?”

God is doing a great and merciful thing in calling out the true Israel, the remnant, from among not only the Judaeans, but also from among the Israelites scattered among the nations (vs. 24 – Hosea’s prophesies were not about non-Israelites). It’s not as though God was obligated to save any Israelite, for they had all sinned against Him (Romans 3:9-20). Imagine if He had treated them like Sodom and Gomorrah instead.

What precisely is wrong with this Israel of flesh? They try to obtain righteousness by the works of the Mosaic law, rather than by faith. Israelites living among the Gentiles (Hellenists, Ephraimites) who were not even trying to follow the law obtained righteousness through faith. The Israel of flesh stumbles on the rock, but the true Israel stands on it.

10:1-13 — Paul’s desire is for those Israelites who stumbled on the rock, those who have tried to obtain righteousness through the Mosaic law, to be saved (delivered from wrath). But, they are ignorant of the righteousness of God and insist on earning their own through the law.

If a man can keep the law, then he will live, but Paul has already shown that no one can keep the law (Romans 1-7). If one cannot keep the law, he is a vessel of wrath. The law cannot bring Christ close, but with faith Christ is near, in heart and mouth. The true Israel (Judaean and Hellenist) confesses this and is saved (delivered) from the coming wrath.

10:14-21 — Isaiah 52 tells us that Israel was oppressed, first by the Egyptians, then by the Assyrians. But God (Yahweh) would redeem them. And how beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news of redemption to these oppressed Israelites. And likewise does the gospel of Jesus Christ go out to Israel through the apostles’ preaching.

Yet, not all Israel believes this gospel. Have they heard it? Yes. But although hearing it, they still reject it, “they” being the Israel of flesh trying to obtain righteousness through the law of Moses. And so God will provoke them to jealousy: to be passionately concerned for what rightfully belongs to them. Those who are not a nation, those who do not seek God, the Israelites who do not follow the law, the uncircumcised ones — they will find God through Paul’s gospel of Jesus Christ. All day long God stretches out His hands to law abiding Israel, but it is the prodigal son who is reconciled to the Father.

11:1-10 — So many of Israel have rejected Paul’s gospel of Jesus Christ. Does this mean God has rejected all of Israel? Of course not. Just as in the days of Elijah, God has preserved for Himself a remnant. And this remnant is elected by God’s grace, not by their own works.

11:11-24 — Again, the Israel of the flesh has stumbled, they have been blinded, and it is God who has done this. Why? Because it is through their stumbling that salvation has come to the Gentiles/Nations.

Who are these Gentiles referred to here? To be consistent with what’s written above, they would be the Hellenist/Ephraimite Dispersion, and that’s what I would lean toward. However, the argument could be made that these Gentiles also refer to non-Israelite nations. In a sense in doesn’t matter, since the purpose here is to provoke law observant Israelites (Israel of flesh) to jealousy. We know already that not all Israel is cast away (vs. 15) since there is a remnant (vs. 5) so the contrast here cannot be all Israel vs all non-Israel, but rather the contrast here is still “Israel of flesh” vs “true Israel,” and if “true Israel” at this point includes non-Israelite converts then so be it.

There is an olive tree, and the root of this tree is holy. The tree is covenant Israel (Jeremiah 11:14-17; Hosea 14:5-6). Gentile branches are grafted into this tree, but they do not make the tree holy, rather the reverse. Gentile (unnatural) branches were grafted in by faith, and this is good, but if God cut off the natural branches (law abiding Israel/Judaeans), then certainly Gentiles should fear God and not be proud lest they be cut off as well. And of course, the cut off natural branches can be grafted in again.

Notice what the Gentiles are being grafted into. They are not being grafted into a new multi-national religion called Christianity. Rather, they are being grafted into Israel. At this point in the discourse, Paul is still focused on Israel.

11:25-36 — When the fullness of the Gentiles/Dispersion/Prodigals has come in, all Israel will be saved (delivered from the wrath to come). Every single Israelite? No, that would not be consistent with what Paul has been saying. All saved Israel = the Israel of promise, the true Israel, the remnant. All saved Israel consists of Judaeans, Greeks, Ephraimites, Proselytes.

Concerning the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Israel of flesh is an enemy for the sake of the Gentiles/Dispersion/Prodigals, but concerning election, they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. God intends to keep His promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob after all.

Through the disobedience of the Israel of flesh, God has shown mercy to the Gentiles/Dispersion/Prodigals, but mercy will be shown to the Israel of flesh as well.

How and when will this mercy be manifest? Has this been fulfilled already? Or is it yet still to be fulfilled?

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!

“For who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has become His counselor?”
“Or who has first given to Him
And it shall be repaid to him?”

For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.
Romans 11:33-36

*Note: All scripture references are from the NKJV bible.