Subjective testing of spirits = "telling yourself that the Holy Spirit just led you to believe or do what you just decided was the right thing to believe or do."
As proud_2_B_texasgal said in #1011, "Any human person is ... going to interpret differently from the next."
And the same is true of testing spirits. If you tell 20,000 people that they have the Spirit and the authority to determine subjectively what the Spirit is saying, then you will get 20,000 opinions.
-A8
imho, Language is inadequate at times like this.
"subjective testing of spirits" is NOT telling myself anything. It is tuning in to Holy Spirit telling me WHAT HE WILL.
Sure, just as 100 people listening to a Roman serman would come away with more or less 100 different perspectives and comments, there is an ELEMENT of subjectivity.
I personally believe that's why God --traditionally-- put prophetic types through umpteen years on the back side of the desert. And, in our era, He still tends to put them through umpteen long dark nights of the soul and plentiful fiery furnaces . . . burning the tendendy to do and say their own thing out of them. Not a fun process in the least. And, it's likely not finished in this life. But, God is a great trainer and HE DOES MAKE GREAT PROGRESS over time.
I have not yet seen much of the purity of say a Jeremiah or Moses or St Paul in our era but I've known of some who were approaching the ball park. I think the more 'no-name' obscure folks in our era tend to be more like that than the well known sorts.
But I'm 100% convinced that God is going to wholesale purify HIS CHURCH across the board and particularly HIS PROPHETIC TYPES before He returns. There's too much at stake and too much of HIS GLORY HE HAS CHOSEN TO FLOOD THROUGH SUCH EARTHEN VESSELS. If He doesn't clean us all up more thoroughly, such will kill us.
But, most of the time, as long as folks are earnest, humble, SEEKING GOD AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS FIRST, i don't fault them much for learning and growing in their prophetic gifting. snotty nosed brats the world over have to learn at whatever pace they learn. I know from first hand experience.
GOD DID NOT MAKE US GLASS PIPES.
St Paul's personality shows vividly through HIS ENSCRIPTURATED TEXT. God could have done it differently. God could have dictated each letter of each word. God could have put him in a trance and controlled each move of his hand writing or dictating Scripture. He didn't.
I prefer to submit to HIS WISDOM rather than tell HIM what He can and can't do in such matters.
IF GOD ALMIGHTY IS MORE OR LESS COMFORTABLE ENOUGH WITH THE LEVEL OF SUBJECTIVITY INVOLVED TO CONTINUE HAVING HOLY SPIRIT DO THINGS THE WAY HE DOES--I'M NOT GOING TO ARGUE WITH HIM NOR CALL HOLY SPIRIT GNOSTIC.
I've noticed a few things over the years. And, in spite of all our flawedness, GOD DOES ALL THINGS WELL. I submit to HIS WAYS. Tradition and organizations of man have NO standing in the least over GOD AND GOD'S WAYS, as far as I'm concerned.
As proud_2_B_texasgal said in #1011, "Any human person is ... going to interpret differently from the next."
Please see above.