What Does 1 Corinthians 3:10 Mean?
According to the favor of God that was given to me, as a wise master builder I laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one watch how he builds on it.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
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.THE KEY
Favor gives the foundation, while the verse makes each later layer a matter of consequence.
THE MEANING
The foundation comes as God’s favor, and what follows is built by more than one set of hands. Your part in the structure carries consequence in how you build upon what has already been laid.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
A sound beginning makes every later choice harmless.
THE ROOT
χάρις
charis
GROWS FROM
χαρ-
char-
Favor, goodwill, or graciousness freely extended.
The verse does not present wise building as a self-made credential: the favor enabling the first work is given. The same word family names both favor and its freely granted gifts, placing the builder’s work inside received generosity.
ALSO GROWS
charisma: A gracious gift
χάρισμα
The verse’s foundation work begins with what is given, not with a claim of self-sufficiency.
charizomai: Grant freely, show favor; in some contexts, forgive
χαρίζομαι
This branch shows favor as an action that gives freely and releases what is held against another.
ἐποικοδομεῖ
epoikodomei
GROWS FROM
οἰκοδομ-
oikodom-
House-building; constructing a structure.
“buildeth thereupon” in this verse is epoikodomei. The verb means to build upon, making each contribution an addition to a structure already laid. Its house-building word family also names the people as God’s building, holding together the work and those being built.
ALSO GROWS
oikodomē: A building or structure
οἰκοδομή
This family member makes the building itself visible as a continuing structure, not a one-time act.
oikodomos: Builder
οἰκοδόμος
The builder belongs to the same house-building family as the structure, linking the worker to the work.
THE PATTERN
What is received as a foundation becomes a shared structure, and the manner of building matters.
A Song of degrees for Solomon. Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders toil in emptiness. Unless the LORD guards the city, the watchman stays awake in emptiness.Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house upon the rock.You also, as living stones, are built up into a house of breath, a set-apart priesthood, to carry up sacrifices of breath, well received by God through Jesus, the Anointed One.THE THREAD
For we are fellow workers with God. You are God's field; you are God's building.“Buildeth thereupon” (ἐποικοδομεῖ, epoikodomei, to build upon) and “building” (οἰκοδομή, oikodomē, a structure) share the Greek house-building family. The image opens from one builder’s task to a whole people as God’s building, with each contribution resting within a work that belongs to God.
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