Customer Reviews

The Silent Shepherd: The Care, Comfort and Correction of the Holy Spirit (The Silent Shepherd , No 9)

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This book explores the intimate ministry of the Holy Spirit. It talks of how we should and can have the Spirit in our life. The author shows us how to take the mystery out of living in the Spirit leading us into rewarding Christian Living.

I've been looking for a good basic study of the person and work of the Holy Spirit. One suitable for relatively new and intermediate Christians, is straightforward and grounded in the scripture, and without all the bizarre and outlandish nonsense I've seen in other books. I think I have found a good one in The Silent Shepherd, by John MacArthur.

This book is one of a number of volumes in the MacArthur Study Series. It calls itself a primer, a book covering the basic elements, specifically the care, comfort, and correction of the Holy Spirit. In general, I have found that a number of Christians have never been properly introduced to their promised Comforter through the scriptures and are completely ignorant as to who He is, what He desires to accomplish in their lives, and how to grow in their relationship with Him. Then there are others who have been taught such a distorted picture of the Holy Spirit (like the Health & Wealth doctrine, Seed Faith doctrine and the Name It & Claim It doctrine, to name just a few).

MacArthur wisely begins with a study of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament, and then moves to the New Covenant in the New Testament. The book is broken down into nine parts, starting with a relevant Introduction through eight chapters, each on a different area of the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit. He includes a valuable Personal and Group Study Guide at the end. It also has a Scripture Index and a Subject Index for follow-up study.

The only issue I had with this book was with the publisher, Victor Books. This is a good study, but the way it was presented on the page leaves one with the feeling it was hastily put together. This may have been necessary to keep the cost down. Nevertheless, the presentation doesn't completely distract from the value of the content.

I can highly recommend The Silent shepherd as a solid and biblically sound introductory study of the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit.