1 Corinthians 3:10

By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one must be careful how he builds.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Paul writes to the Corinthian church amid factional disputes (chs. 1–3), using a construction metaphor to define his role relative to theirs. He is the one who first preached the gospel to them; they are the building.

The words — χάρις (charis, G5485), "grace," is modified by the perfect passive participle δοθεῖσαν (dotheisan, G1325), "having been given," which marks a completed act with enduring result: the grace is not a momentary impulse but a settled endowment.

The thread — The "building on a foundation" image recurs in Ephesians 2:20 (Christ as cornerstone over the foundation of apostles and prophets) and Romans 15:20 (Paul's deliberate avoidance of building on another's foundation).

Why it lands — The foundation is fixed and non-negotiable (v. 11), so the variable is entirely in how each person constructs on it; the verse places the burden of quality and care on the builder, not the architect.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

King James Version

According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.

Cross-references

1 Corinthians 3:11 For no one can lay a foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 2:20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone.
Romans 15:20 In this way I have aspired to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation.
Daniel 12:3 Then the wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever and ever.
Matthew 24:45 Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of his household, to give the others their food at the proper time?
Matthew 7:24 Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
1 Corinthians 3:5 What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed, as the Lord has assigned to each his role.
1 Corinthians 9:2 Even if I am not an apostle to others, surely I am to you. For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.
1 Peter 4:11 If anyone speaks, he should speak as one conveying the words of God. If anyone serves, he should serve with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.
Revelation 21:19 The foundations of the city walls were adorned with every kind of precious stone: The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald,