1 Corinthians 3:10

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 (KJV)

Then: Enter the wise, yet humble, masterbuilder, a person with experience who through Christ, does his own work well. He is not the paymaster (Baker, p. 53) or the bricklayer or the carpenter. Those other workers -- "Watch out! Be careful." If any one builds carelessly, he can destroy the whole building, cause it to be unsturdy, or leave places with cracks or splinters.

There's a lot in this verse. Another detail is Paul's statement that he laid the foundation which is Jesus Christ. He himself is not the foundation; it was just his joy to be the one who first brought Christ into the lives of individual Corinthians. A final word which strikes commentators is "grace." Morris likes its sense of dependence on God's power as it enables recipients more than its meanings of divine call and direction, loving kindness, or favor (p. 65).

Now: We look to Paul's metaphoric teaching to understand both our place and our work in God's kingdom. Following Paul we too hope to reach the ability to be wise masterbuilders while at the same time be under care of the buildings master architect. As builders we hear Paul's warning that we do our work with care, always checking with the Lord and not doing things "our own way," as "it might be convenient" or as "quick and dirty." We hope our work compares favorably to those who took years to build the cathedrals, inch by inch, detail by detail, and perfection by perfection.

Extra Source: Cornerstone Biblical Commentary 1 Corinthians (William Baker), 2 Corinthians (Ralph Martin & Carl Toney), ed. by Philip Comfort. Carol Stream: Tyndale House Publishers, c2006.
The First epistle of Paul to the Corinthians: an introduction and commentary by Leon Morris (Grand Rapids MI: Wm B. Eerdmans, c1985, 2002) online at http://books.google.com/books?id=lNc0AYIqQvAC&dq=Corinthians+Morris&printsec=frontcover&source=bl&ots=NwNTeWfd4I&sig=XgqcdeZIJ7jIfOrxTT7PUqQqo_4&hl=en&ei=F-MkS82TPIvWlAfW55D-CQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CAwQ6AEwATgK#v=onepage&q=&f=false