7. So the one who plants is not important. The one who waters is not important. It is God who makes things grow. He is the One who is important.
8. The one who plants and the one who waters have the same purpose. The Lord will give each of us a reward for our work.
9. We work together with God. You are like God's field. You are like his building.
10. God has given me the grace to lay a foundation as a master builder. Now someone else is building on it. But each one should build carefully.
11. No one can lay any other foundation than the one that has already been laid. That foundation is Jesus Christ.
12. A person may build on it using gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay or straw.
13. But each person's work will be shown for what it is. On judgment day it will be brought to light. It will be put through fire. The fire will test how good everyone's work is.
14. If the building doesn't burn up, God will give the builder a reward for his work.
15. If the building burns up, the builder will lose everything. The builder will be saved, but only like one escaping through the flames.
16. Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple? God's Spirit lives in you.
17. If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. God's temple is holy. And you are that temple.
18. Don't fool yourselves. Suppose some of you think you are wise by the standards of the world. Then you should become a "fool" so that you can become wise.
19. The wisdom of this world is foolish in God's eyes. It is written, "God catches wise people in their own tricks." (Job 5:13)
20. It is also written, "The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise don't amount to anything." (Psalm 94:11)
21. So no more bragging about human beings! All things are yours.
22. That means Paul or Apollos or Peter or the world or life or death or the present or the future. All are yours.