So why then did Christ establish a Church to spread the Word if we are expected to get by solely on our own interpretation?
Well, just who/what do you think a "Church" is??? The church is the called-out assembly of the members of the body of Christ. In other words, it is us - those who have trusted in Jesus Christ as Savior. I was not implying that the assembling of ourselves together for fellowship, teaching, sharing, worshiping has no place, on the contrary, we are even told to not forsake it.
My point was that we are all responsible for knowing what God has spoken to us in his word. When Peter said some of Paul's writings were hard to understand (II Peter 3:16) he added that it was hard for those who were "unlearned" and "unstable" that wrestled with their meaning. So, we should be sure we do not stay unlearned, but by the power of the Holy Spirit within us along with fellowship and study with other Christians, we can learn the meanings of Scripture - the things of God.