No matter which one of these ways may be preferred, Paul is evidently discussing the matter in light of his Jewish wisdom tradition, as Schlier, Conzelmann, and others have noted, according to which real wisdom has disappeared among humans, and that which now comes from God is known only to “those who are called” (v. 24) or to “those who are being saved” (v. 18). The idiom ginōskein en, “to recognize something by,” is found in Luke 24:35; John 13:35; 1 John 3:16; Sir 11:28. God was pleased to save
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