***“That requires an authority to determine which is which and then to determine what the metaphorical verses mean. Scripture says that Christ left His Church to be that authority.”
Jesus: “13But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.”
And based on the examples of Scripture, He’ll do it BY teaching us Scripture. I don’t deny the role of teachers in the Church, but we should listen to the Author first. There is no indication in Scripture that anyone besides the Holy Spirit is infallible...***
Teaching does guarantee learning. Leading does not guarantee following. Lucifer is the father of lies and leads everyone astray. He masquerades as an angel of light. How do you know that the voices you are hearing are those of God?
The simple examination of the tens of thousands of Protestant beliefs littering the theological landscape should make it clear that with individual humans at any rate, this claim does not work.
Origen was a great theologian, and a great Father of the Church, yet he wandered into heresy and was excommunicated in disgrace. Tertullian also, and was disgraced. Augustine came back from heresy but was never able to completely shed his Manichaean taint and as a result, some of his non Church approved writings formed much of the basis of the Reformed theology from the pen of Calvin.
Let us then ask HOW the Holy Spirit will teach you (personally) Scripture. How do you know it? Is it the Gnostic claim that many Protestants will bruit about? The indwelling knowledge that the non saved do not have? How do you listen to God? And how do you know it is Him?
Teaching does NOT guarantee learning. Sorry about that.