Editing George Müller (section)

==Theology==
[[File:George-Muller's-tombstone.jpg|thumb|150px|George Müller's tombstone]]

The theology that guided George Müller's work is not widely known, but was shaped by an experience in his middle twenties when he "came to prize the Bible alone as [his] standard of judgement".

He records in his Narratives {{blockquote|[...] That the word of God alone is our standard of judgment in spiritual things; that it can be explained only by the [[Holy Spirit]]; and that in our day, as well as in former times, he is the teacher of his people. The office of the Holy Spirit I had not experimentally understood before that time. Indeed, of the office of each of the blessed persons, in what is commonly called the Trinity, I had no experimental apprehension. I had not before seen from the Scriptures that the Father chose us before the foundation of the world; that in him that wonderful plan of our redemption originated, and that he also appointed all the means by which it was to be brought about. Further, that the Son, to save us, had fulfilled the law, to satisfy its demands, and with it also the holiness of God; that he had borne the punishment due to our sins, and had thus satisfied the justice of God. And, further, that the Holy Spirit alone can teach us about our state by nature, show us the need of a Saviour, enable us to believe in Christ, explain to us the Scriptures, help us in preaching, etc. It was my beginning to understand this latter point in particular which had a great effect on me; for the Lord enabled me to put it to the test of experience, by laying aside commentaries, and almost every other book, and simply reading the word of God and studying it. The result of this was, that the first evening that I shut myself into my room, to give myself to prayer and meditation over the Scriptures, I learned more in a few hours than I had done during a period of several months previously. ''But the particular difference was, that I received real strength for my soul in doing so.'' I now began to try by the test of the Scriptures the things which I had learned and seen, and found that only those principles which stood the test were really of value.<ref>Müller (2003), pp. 39–40</ref>}}

Müller also wrote of how he came to believe in the doctrines of election, particular redemption, and final persevering grace while staying in [[Teignmouth]], Devon in 1829.<ref>Müller (2003), p. 40.</ref> George Müller was a founding member of the [[Plymouth Brethren]] movement. Doctrinal differences arose in the 1840s and Müller was determined to determine the truth by the "infallible standard of the Holy Spirit".<ref>Harding, p. 117</ref> At the time, he and Craik were pastors of the Bethesda and Gideon fellowships in Bristol. Membership at Gideon was open to all believers, while only believers who had been baptised could claim full membership of Bethesda, although all believers were welcome at Communion. Müller consulted [[Robert Chapman (Plymouth Brethren)|Robert C Chapman]] on the issue of accepting unbaptised believers, and Chapman stated that distinction should be made between unbaptised believers who "walked disorderly" and those who lived according to the Bible.<ref>Harding, pp. 117–18</ref> Müller and Craik independently contemplated the issue and decided that unbaptised believers, who otherwise lived according to Scriptural principles, should not be denied membership.

Dissension arose at Gideon regarding the presence of unbelievers at [[Holy Communion|communion]] and the view held by some that pews were private property. Eventually, Müller and Craik withdrew from this fellowship on 19 April 1840,<ref>Müller (2003), p. 224</ref> concentrating thereafter on the Bethesda Chapel.<ref>Harding, p. 119</ref>

[[John Nelson Darby]] and [[Benjamin Wills Newton]] became opposed concerning certain matters of doctrine and a discussion was held in Plymouth on 5 December 1845. A document entitled ''The Principles of Open Brethren'' stated: "Certain tracts issued by Mr. Newton were judged to contain error regarding the nature of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the question arose whether it was sufficient to exclude from the fellowship those who held the erroneous teaching, or whether all who belonged to a gathering where the error was tolerated were to be put outside the pale, even if they themselves had not embraced it. One party, led by Mr Darby, took the latter view. Others, in particular the Bethesda Church, in which Messrs Müller and Craik ministered, refused to admit any who were convicted of holding the evil doctrine themselves but did not exclude those who came from Mr Newton's meeting. The exclusive party thereupon declined to have any further fellowship with members of the Bethesda Church or others like-minded. The latter soon came to receive the title of 'Open Brethren'."<ref>Harding, pp. 123–24</ref> The more exclusive side of the brethren movement became known as the [[Exclusive Brethren]] and was led by Darby.<ref>{{cite web
 |url= http://www.bruederbewegung.de/pdf/collingwood.pdf
 |title=The "Brethren" |page = 8
 |publisher=The Bible and Tract Depot |date=August 1899 |last=Collingwood |first= WilliamO
 |access-date=27 June 2010
}}</ref> Darby called on Müller in July 1849 to discuss the split, but Müller had many prior engagements and could only receive Darby for 10 minutes. It was impossible to fully discuss the problem in such a short time, and the two men never met again.<ref>Harding, p. 124</ref>

Though the pre-tribulational [[rapture]] doctrine gained momentum as a result of the literature of the Brethren movement, Müller's church was wary of such teachings. George Müller held to a [[posttribulation rapture]] doctrine along with others such as [[Benjamin Wills Newton]] and [[Samuel Prideaux Tregelles]],<ref>{{cite web
 |url= http://www.ntslibrary.com/Online-Library-The-Rapture-of-the-Church.htm
 |title=The Rapture of the Church
 |work=Online Library |publisher = Northwestern Theological Seminary |last=Cordner |first = Michael |access-date=27 June 2010
}}</ref> and said that "scripture declares plainly that the Lord Jesus will not come until the Apostasy shall have taken place, and the man of sin shall have been revealed..."<ref>{{cite book|last=Mueller|first=Susannah Grace|title=Preaching tours and missionary labours of George Mueller|year=1883|page=148}}</ref>

Müller wrote frequently about the stewardship of money and the non-reliance on earthly riches, and how God would bless the man who kept to these principles and felt that laying his own experiences bare would prove the truth of his claims. His personal income, from unsolicited gifts (he refused any kind of salary) rose from £151 in 1831 to more than £2,000 in 1870. However, he retained only around £300 a year for himself and his family, the rest he gave away.<ref>Garton, pp. 88-89</ref>

William Henry Harding said, "The world, dull of understanding, has even yet not really grasped the mighty principle upon which he [Müller] acted, but is inclined to think of him merely as a nice old gentleman who loved children, a sort of glorified guardian of the poor, who with the passing of the years may safely be spoken of, in the language of newspaper headlines, as a 'prophet of philanthropy.' To describe him thus, however, is to degrade his memory, is to miss the high spiritual aim and the wonderful spiritual lesson of his life. It is because the carnal mind is incapable of apprehending spiritual truth that the world regards the orphan Houses only with the languid interest of mere humanitarianism, and remains oblivious of their extraordinary witness to the faithfulness of God."<ref>Harding, p. 3</ref>