You might be thinking Paul may as well be writing to the church today,

That is exactly the point. Just like Satan temps Eve by getting her to doubt God, the church in Corinth is looking for salvation by way of man instead of Jesus Christ. Paul reminds them the message of the cross is mighty and powerful when preached in its simplicity. The philosophies of these “wise men, these scholars, these brilliant debaters of the worlds great affairs” (1:20) are nonsense. The world will “never find God through human brilliance” (1:21). Paul wants the believers in Corinth to grasp the fact that through the Holy Spirit they have everything they need to do the will of God. And so do you.