Teacher & The Principle of Responsibility – Describing the Gift – Part 2 resumes after a very long pause since Describing the Gift was published.
Holy Spirit, Teacher that He is, has been nurturing my Teacher portion. It is good to be back. He has been filling this hungry one with good things.1
I am more convinced than ever that the Spirit’s way of truth and grace flows from His keen listening to the Father’s heart and will for each one. The wonder is that only He can take a Wisdom principle of the Word of God and apply it in a multitude of ways to others’ Teacher portion. The Word of God becomes multiplied seed to sow for the Father’s harvest.
Holy Spirit delights to teach willing-hearted students. In turn, His joy strengthens2 Teacher portions to develop, grow, and become skilled in the Principle of Responsibility as they work out what they are learning and have learned: Intellectually → Emotionally → Spiritually → Relationally.
The Principle of Responsibility – Where & How
What, where, and how we learn is individual to each person. In the first part of describing Teacher, the what of this redemptive gift was exemplified in I Corinthians 13, the love chapter, in the Person of Love – Jesus.
Where I Corinthians 13 has been read or recounted as the facets of love’s lifegiving nature, there follows God’s time of opportunities to learn, develop, grow, and demonstrate the Principle of Responsibility.
Believers in Christ Jesus cannot separate the Principle of Responsibility from the Great Commandment. Indeed, how well we fulfill the second commandment, “love your neighbor in the same way you love yourself,” grows or withers as a result of direct correlation to the first and greatest commandment – learning to wholly love God.
Where and How We Learn
In early introduction of the redemptive gifts, Arthur observed: “When you understand 3 what you bring to a relationship and what you need from a relationship, it is easier to form mutually life-giving relationships.”
A new marriage, family, friendship, school, workplace, position, team, group, congregation – wherever there is a new community in your life, there is an inherent principle of responsibility. The give and take, push-pull, what you bring and what you need is brought to the table, usually initially obscure. So, you act and react.
One reason for sharing these overviews of the seven portions of our human spirit is because most, if not all of us are way down the river of life and relationships. Some were formed well; others were not. What may be or have been life-giving for you will be the fodder of painful memories for others; a life truth in reverse too.
And so, the Teacher portion of our human spirit is set on a quest that will ebb and flow as we grow up in Christ. It is in His warm presence that we will be both challenged and confirmed in what we have learned. We’ll quickly find He sets about introducing His mind, which requires unlearning and relearning. And He restores us. All the while with a heart of Love that knows Teacher’s birthright, which Holy Spirit takes from Him to make real to us.4
Teacher’s Birthright*
“To know God’s deep truths that can only come through intimacy. To know God experientially and to incrementally dispense what God reveals.
To reveal the manifest presence of God to others by knowing who God is and to live in God’s will, to reveal the presence of God to the world and enthrone the Lord Jesus Christ.
Community: Life-Giving or Life-Depleting?
When I speak of the community of the human spirit, it begins with one person – you. Your community of the seven portions of your human spirit hold the traits God hard-wired into you to reflect His nature in this world.
“This world” is comprised of every other person who lives on this planet. Very few will have global visibility and influence in their lifetime. Those who do cannot escape the Principle of Responsibility any more than can the less-visible majority of humanity. Where two or more are in relationship, Teacher portion is present.
(It reminds of Jesus’ vow in Matthew 18:20 – wherever two or three gather together in His Name (His character, His authority), He is with them (there among them.) A key to how Teacher comes to know the Father’s heart.)
No doubt I speak for the masses when I say that community can be life-giving or life-depleting. Even within the community of your human spirit. Teacher portion knows that well for validating truth is their core motivation.
To the degree we desire and allow the Spirit of Truth to reveal the Christ who lives within, our Teacher portion will share in the far-reaching territory of Christ’s Kingdom. We ‘start here’ and continue, if we will. To press in and press on brings the life-giving Christ up close and personal, from whom we can draw in community. To ignore, resist, or opt for distraction will find us life-depleted over time, affecting even the communities with whom we have to do. The validity of Matthew 18:20 is a gift God sets before us to give ourselves and others.
Describing the Gift – will continue
What I came to realize and take to heart many years ago bears repeating: Someone is watching, and we are teaching by influence and example, with or without saying a word. Our Teacher portion benefits from the truth.
Teacher’s checklist of behavioral characteristics and these brief overviews may arm us with good information. But the real work is accomplished when we don’t stop short at knowledge but receive Holy Spirit’s application of God’s truth to our life. Wisdom reminds us, the Teacher is a student is a teacher. Next up will be Why and When.
~ Nancy
1 Luke 1:53 2 Nehemiah 8:10 4 John 16:14 *A. Burk/C. Wales description of Teacher’s birthright
3 Years after our introduction and deep dive into the redemptive gifts, my husband and I were introduced to How We Love, the biblical ministry of Milan and Kay Yerkovich, focused on our attachment or love styles imprinted in childhood. In 2025, Milan and Kay transferred the reins of what they built to Marc and Amy Cameron who trained under them. Today, they continue writing, teaching, and building forward on the foundation of helping others discover how their early life experiences shaped their love style. Identifying the core conflict pattern in a relationship, how to work toward more secure bonds, developing new patterns of engaging, relief that comes from working toward resolution, and knowing comfort are all part of the journey experienced in engaging and applying the life-changing material developed and nurtured at HWL. It is Wayne’s and my privilege to bring awareness to How We Love, in conjunction with the study of the redemptive gifts. The Yerkovich’s licensed attachment theory material, and who first made it their own, come with our highest recommendation.
Click for a printable PDF of this article: Teacher & The Principle of Responsibility – Describing the Gift – Part 2
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