What does First B Jackson teach about church division?
Drawn from the messages where it was actually addressed: the words said from the front, the passages taught, and where to hear the whole thing.
At First B Jackson, the teaching on church division starts with the Corinthian church and lands close to home. The problem Paul addressed was a congregation splitting into camps over favorite teachers, some claiming Paul, some Apollos, some Peter, some Christ alone. The preaching here has traced that same pattern across religious history, from the fractures within Islam after Muhammad's death to the divisions within Mormonism after Joseph Smith died, to the ongoing Protestant rifts over figures like Calvin and Arminius. The point is that this tendency is not unique to Corinth, it is human, and it is dangerous.
The corrective Paul offers in 1 Corinthians 3 is a right understanding of what teachers actually are. They are farmers and builders, servants doing real work but not the source of anything that ultimately matters. As the teaching here puts it, "We cannot give them credit for our salvation. We cannot give them credit for our growth. That is the Holy Spirit himself." A pastor can plant, water, and build, but God causes the growth, and the foundation is Christ alone. That means elevating a teacher to something more than a servant is not just unbiblical, it is the first step toward the tribalism that has torn communities apart throughout history.
The flip side of that corrective is also taught here. Verses 21 through 23 say that Paul, Apollos, and Peter all belong to the congregation, not the other way around. The church owns its pastors, not the other way around, and a pastor who makes himself available to his people is simply living out what that means. Judgment of a leader's actions, things like financial misconduct or mistreatment of people, is appropriate. But judging motives is another matter entirely. Paul wrote that he did not even judge his own motives, and the teaching here holds that line firmly, noting that the disclosure of what is truly hidden belongs to God alone.
Taught from 1 Corinthians 3:4-9 · 1 Corinthians 3:21-23 · 1 Corinthians 4:1-2 · 1 Corinthians 4:3-5 · 1 Corinthians 1:12
The passage taught · 1 Corinthians 12:2
2 You know that when you were heathen, you were led away to those mute idols, however you might be led.
World English Bible
The messages that teach on it
- July 5, 2026 Don't Fight About Which Preacher You Follow Paul's letter to Corinth shows why Christians divide over favorite teachers, and why that pride leads somewhere ugly. A look at 1 Corinthians 3-4.
- June 28, 2026 They Belong to You A sermon on 1 Corinthians 3-4 about why Christians should not divide over favorite teachers or preachers, and how to think rightly about the leaders God gives us.
Mentioned along the way
- August 17, 2014 What Do You Have That You Did Not Receive? Pastor Ray walks through 1 Corinthians 4, showing how pride fuels division, why every gift comes from God, and what faithful, humble service actually looks like.