In 1 Corinthians 1:18-31, Paul continues to offer his view of essential Christian unity amid myriad claims to the exclusivity of certain groups and their ideas. While verses 10-16 dismissed any special claims that Corinthians might make based upon their loyalty to any one individual leader, Paul now turns to the even more insidious divisiveness suggested by those who touted one form of theological knowledge or insight over another.

Corinth was an extremely Greek Roman city. Its Greek heritage was long; its identity as a Roman town relatively new. There was still a deep-rooted love and longing for all things Greek running through Corinthian culture. The rhetorical tradition of Hellenism that championed the abilities of human wisdom and power and glorified the pride and prestige of knowledge…