not “until several years after” that Müller fully adopted the principles that are now considered distinctive of Brethrenism. These he enumerates as follows: “That the disciples of Jesus should meet together, on the first day of the week, for the breaking of bread, and that that should be their principal meeting, and that those, whether one or several, who are truly gifted by the Holy Spirit for service, be it for exhortation, or teaching, or rule, etc., are responsible to the Lord for the exercise of their gifts”.
Though he implies that his Brethrenism at Teignmouth was only rudimentary, it must be remembered that there was then no Brethrenism that was anything else. For better or for worse, he was not less advanced than others who were moving in the same direction.
The influence of Groves may perhaps be traced in the following statement:—
“About the same time also my wife and I had grace given to us, to take the Lord’s commandment, ‘Sell that ye have and give alms,’ Luke xii. 33, literally, and to carry it out. Our staff and support in this matter were Matt. vi. 19—34, John xiv. 13, 14. We leaned on the arm of the Lord Jesus. It is now more than fourteen years since we set out in this way, and we do not in the least regret the step we then took.”
Before Müller had come to Teignmouth, Groves’ tract on Christian Devotedness had given a real impulse to his mind; and his wife, whom he married on October 7, 1830, was Groves’ sister. Evidently therefore Groves’ influence counted for a good deal in the development of Müller’s Brethrenism.
It was at Teignmouth that Müller first met the excellent man who was to be his friend and fellow-labourer through thirty-six years of unbroken harmony—a young Scotchman of the name of Henry Craik.
