1 Corinthians 3:10

Plain English Version

This is the picture story. One builder starts to build a house. First, he puts cement down on the ground for the building to stand on. That cement is called the foundation. Then other builders build the house on that cement foundation. This story is a picture of you getting into God’s family. God was good to me and gave me the power to work for him. I told you about Jesus, and it is like I put down a good foundation for you at that time. And now other Christian workers are teaching you more about Jesus. They are like the builders that build on that foundation. They have to do it properly. Jesus is the only strong foundation. Nobody can put down any other foundation for God’s family.

Cross References

Matthew 24:45

Then Jesus said to the people, “Think about a good work-man. He will always do what his boss says. He thinks about it and does it properly. So, if the boss has to go away for a while, he will pick that good work-man to be in charge of all his other workers, to look after them and give them food every day.

Matthew 7:24

Then Jesus told them 2 more picture stories. He said, “If you listen to my message, and if you do what I say, you are like a wise man that built his house on hard rock.

Acts 18:27

Later on, Apollos told the other Christians in Ephesus, “I want to go to Akaya country.” They said, “That’s good. You go there.” And they wrote a letter to the Christians in Akaya, and told them, “Be friendly to Apollos.” So Apollos went to the city called Corinth in Akaya country. Before that time, God was good to some of the Corinth people, and he helped them believe in Jesus. After Apollos got to Corinth, he really helped those new Christians there.

Romans 1:5

And you know, God is very good to me. He picked me to be Jesus’s special worker. He told me to go to people that are not Jews to tell them about Jesus, and get them to believe in him and do whatever he says.

Romans 12:3

God wants me to tell you this, and he helps me to say it. Don’t think that you are better than you really are, but think properly about yourself. God himself makes it possible for you to believe in him, so think about how much you trust him. That is the important thing.

Romans 15:20

I always want to tell that good story to people that have never heard about Jesus Christ. I don’t want to go to places where somebody else already told them about Jesus, and just tell them a bit more. No, I want to go and tell people that haven’t heard about Jesus.

1 Corinthians 9:2

Maybe other people reckon I’m not Jesus’s special worker, but you know that I am. You see, you believed what I told you, and now you are Christians. That shows that Jesus sent me to you.

Ephesians 2:20

I will use a house as a picture story. It is like God used Jesus and all his people to build a special house for himself. He used Jesus Christ to start building that house. He is the most important one. Then God used Jesus’s special workers, and the other people that told God’s messages. They are like the cement slab that the house sits on. Now God is using you mob, with us Jewish mob, to make the rest of the house. It is like God’s people are the bricks and the wood. You mob are not Jews, but you are still part of that house. God’s spirit carefully joins us together, to make that house bigger all the time, and God lives in his special house. That picture of a house shows us that God is living in us all the time.

Colossians 1:29

So I work really hard to do that. It is hard work, but Jesus Christ gives me his power, and he makes me strong.

Colossians 4:17

Now here is a special message from me to Arkipus. Tell him, “Our leader, Jesus, gave you a job, so keep on doing it, until you finish it properly.”

1 Timothy 4:16

Be careful to live properly, and to teach the right things. You have to keep on doing those things, so that God will save both you and the people that listen to you.

2 Timothy 2:15

Try your best to be the sort of teacher that God likes. He likes teachers that teach the true message, and that help people understand it properly. That’s how you have to work for God.

James 3:1

My Christian friends, don’t all of you try to be teachers of God’s word. Only the right people can do that. You see, God will judge us all, and if you teach people something that is wrong, God might punish you a lot. It is like this, all of us make mistakes, and we get trouble from those mistakes. But if we teach people, and if we make a mistake so that we teach them something that is wrong, we will get really big trouble from that. It is hard for us to control our tongues so that we say everything properly. If you can control your tongue, you are properly good, and you can control all of your body.

1 Peter 4:11

If you can tell stories to people, then tell them God’s story, and tell it clearly. If you can help other people, then let God make you strong so you can help them properly. Do everything properly so that when people see it, they might say that God is really great. If they know that you follow Jesus, they might thank God for sending Jesus to us. Jesus has really great power now, and he will have that power for ever. That’s true.

2 Peter 3:15

Think about this. Jesus, our leader, is waiting. He wants to save people, so he is waiting for them. He is giving them time to turn back to him. But later, he will come back. You know our Christian friend Paul. Well, God helped him to understand about these things,