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 same problem Paul confronted in Corinth: people splitting into camps over which teacher or preacher they follow. Jeff taught through 1 Corinthians 3 and 4 over two consecutive weeks, tracing how that pattern has repeated across religious history, from the fractures within Islam after Muhammad died, to the divisions within Mormonism after Joseph Smith died, to the ongoing Protestant arguments over Calvin and Arminius. The point was not merely historical. The same pull toward tribalism is alive in any congregation, and Paul wanted to stop it before it took root.
The antidote Jeff kept returning to is thinking rightly about what teachers actually are. Paul's images of farmers and builders both make the same point: a pastor can plant, water, and build, but he cannot make anything grow and he did not lay the foundation. That foundation is Christ, and the growth belongs to God. As Jeff put it, "We cannot give them credit for our salvation. We cannot give them credit for our growth. That is the Holy Spirit himself." That framing cuts the legs out from under any personality cult before it starts. Jeff also pressed the flip side of verses 21 through 23, which say that Paul, Apollos, and Peter all belong to the congregation. The pastor serves his people, not the other way around, and he is accountable to God for how he builds.
The series also addressed how a congregation should evaluate its leaders. Holding a pastor accountable for his actions, financial misconduct, mistreatment of people, is legitimate and right. But judging motives is a different matter. Paul wrote that he did not even examine his own motives, and that the disclosure of what is hidden belongs to God alone. Figures like John Calvin and Jacob Arminius, who have divided Christians for centuries, are in Jeff's words "sitting at the feet of Jesus and they love him and they love each other." The divisions that seemed so important here do not look the same from there.
Taught from 1 Corinthians 3:4-9 · 1 Corinthians 3:10-17 · 1 Corinthians 3:21-23 · 1 Corinthians 4:1-2 · 1 Corinthians 4:3-5
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.