NOTES for Co1 1:18-31
Continuing the conversation about disputes and about what causes them, Paul, of course not by accident, turns to the theme of human wisdom and its limits. For him it is obvious that this wisdom is unable to understand the mystery of the Savior's earthly ministry and His death on the cross (vv. 18-21). Here the apostle remains faithful to the tradition of the "poor," which had taken shape already in the time of the pre-exilic prophets. Judging by the Book of Psalms, even then it had become clear to those seeking full spiritual life and deep relationship with God that human effort alone was not enough to attain righteousness, and that a person who wanted to follow God had to give up the thought of relying only on himself. The seeker could reach what he desired only by surrendering himself completely to God's will. It is no accident that these people began to call themselves "the poor": they understood that before God they were like beggars even when, by the standards of this world, they could be considered wise and rich. They were the ones who awaited the coming of the Messiah and the arrival of the messianic Kingdom more than others; it is precisely such people whom Jesus calls blessed when proclaiming its arrival. But both in the time of the ancient prophets and in the time of Jesus there were people who preferred their own wisdom to the Kingdom. And Paul says directly that trying to understand the mysteries of the Kingdom by human effort alone is useless.
It would seem that there is no need for this, since Jesus Himself revealed them to everyone who wanted to see and hear, to everyone ready to trust Him and follow Him. But only the one who had experienced what the "poor" experienced could do this: the understanding, despite all his wisdom and knowledge, of his complete helplessness in everything concerning the Kingdom, which no one can understand and into which no one can enter unless he is brought in by the One who brought the Kingdom into the world. It is precisely human wisdom that demands signs and proofs even where everything is obvious (vv. 21-24), for such signs and proofs are needed not in order to be convinced of the authenticity of the reality that has opened, but in order to "fit" it into the framework of human logic, coordinating and connecting it with earthly wisdom, which is powerless here. And only to those who have given up such attempts is the path into the Kingdom opened (vv. 26-31). And together with this, the complete meaninglessness of the disputes that divide people in this world becomes clear to them.