Biblical Passages Comparing Believers to a Building

1 Corinthians 3:9-15

9 For we are laborers together with God: you are God’s husbandry, you are God’s building.

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

11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

12 Now if any man build on this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;

13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.

14 If any man’s work abide which he has built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.

15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

Ephesians 2:19-22

19 Now therefore you are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God;

20 And are built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

21 In whom all the building fitly framed together grows to an holy temple in the Lord:

22 In whom you also are built together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

Matthew 7:24-27

24 Therefore whoever hears these sayings of mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man, which built his house on a rock:

25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat on that house; and it fell not: for it was founded on a rock.

26 And every one that hears these sayings of mine, and does them not, shall be likened to a foolish man, which built his house on the sand:

27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat on that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

Believers are identified as the spiritual building of God, composed of living stones that are fitly framed together to grow into a holy temple and a dwelling place for His Spirit 1 Peter 2:4, 5+1. This sacred structure is established upon the only sure foundation, which is Jesus Christ, the chief cornerstone Isaiah 28:16+1.

• The House on the Rock Matthew 7:24-27: Character building is likened to a house that must be founded upon a rock; those who hear and do the words of Christ are securely established against every storm.

• The Household of God Ephesians 2:19-22: Followers of Christ are fellow citizens and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Jesus Christ as the chief cornerstone.

• Laborers Together with God 1 Corinthians 3:9-15: Believers are called "God’s building," and while ministers lay the foundation of Christ, each individual must take heed to build with enduring materials like gold or silver that can withstand the fire of judgment.

• A Spiritual House of Living Stones 1 Peter 2:4-5: By coming to Christ as a "living stone," believers also become "lively stones" who are built up into a spiritual house and a holy priesthood.

• The Temple of the Living God 2 Corinthians 6:16: The church is described as the temple of the living God, where He fulfills the promise to dwell in His people and walk among them.

• The Temple of the Holy Ghost 1 Corinthians 6:19: The individual believer’s body is a sacred habitation, identified as the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in them.

• The House of the Living God 1 Timothy 3:15: The church of Christ is explicitly called the "house of God," which serves as the pillar and ground of the truth.

• The House of Christ Hebrews 3:6: Christ is a Son over His own house, and believers are that house if they hold fast the confidence and rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.

• Polished Cornerstones Psalm 144:12: God’s people are compared to cornerstones that are polished after the similitude of a palace, representing the refining work of the Master Builder on the character.

• The Pillar in the Temple Revelation 3:12: To those who overcome, Christ promises to make them a permanent pillar in the temple of God, bearing His name forever.

• The Tabernacle of David Acts 15:16: God promises to "build again the tabernacle of David" by gathering and restoring His people as a spiritual structure for His glory.

• The Stone of Israel Genesis 49:24: The strength of the believer is maintained by the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob, who is identified as the Shepherd and the Stone of Israel.

• The Hewing of the Prophets Hosea 6:5: God uses the messages of the prophets to "hew" His people, preparing them as stones from the quarry of the world to be fitted for the heavenly building.