Andrew Murray (minister)

Andrew Murray
Born (1828-05-09)9 May 1828
Graaff Reinet, South Africa
Died 18 January 1917(1917-01-18) (aged 88)
Wellington, Western Cape, South Africa
Occupation Pastor, author
Spouse Emma Rutherford

Andrew Murray (9 May 1828 – 18 January 1917) was a South African writer, teacher and Christian pastor. Murray considered missions to be "the chief end of the church".

Early life and education

Andrew Murray was the second child of Andrew Murray Sr. (1794–1866), a Dutch Reformed Church missionary sent from Scotland to South Africa. He was born in Graaff Reinet, South Africa. His mother, Maria Susanna Stegmann, was of French Huguenot and German Lutheran descent.[1]

Murray was sent to Aberdeen in Scotland for his initial education, together with his elder brother, John. Both remained there until they obtained their master's degrees in 1845. From there, they both went to the University of Utrecht where they studied theology. The two brothers became members of Het Réveil, a religious revival movement opposed to the rationalism which was in vogue in the Netherlands at that time. Both brothers were ordained by the Hague Committee of the Dutch Reformed Church on 9 May 1848 and returned to the Cape.

Murray married Emma Rutherford in Cape Town, South Africa, on 2 July 1856. They had eight children together (four boys and four girls).

Residence in Utrecht

In 1846 they lived in the Minrebroederstraat (number unknown).

From 1847-1848 they lived at the Zadelstraat 39.

Religious work in South Africa

Murray pastored churches in Bloemfontein, Worcester, Cape Town and Wellington, all in South Africa. He was a champion of the South African Revival of 1860.

In 1889, he was one of the founders of the South African General Mission (SAGM), along with Martha Osborn and Spencer Walton. After Martha Osborn married George Howe, they formed the South East Africa General Mission (SEAGM) in 1891. SAGM and SEAGM merged in 1894. Because its ministry had spread into other African countries, the mission's name was changed to Africa Evangelical Fellowship (AEF) in 1965. AEF joined with Serving In Mission (SIM) in 1998 and continues to this day.

Through his writings, Murray was also a key "Inner Life" or "Higher Life" or Keswick leader, and his theology of faith healing and belief in the continuation of the apostolic gifts made him a significant forerunner of the Pentecostal movement.[2]

In 1894, Murray was visited by John McNeill and Rev. J Gelson Gregson, the ex-British Army Chaplain and Keswick convention speaker. [3]

Death

Murray died on 18 January 1917, four months before his 89th birthday. He was so influenced by Johann Christoph Blumhardt's Möttlingen revival that he included a portion of Friedrich Zündel's biography at the end of With Christ in the School of Prayer.

Works

A bibliography compiled by D. S. B. Joubert estimates that Murray published over 240 books and tracts[4]; this number includes more than 50 books, many of them authored in both Dutch and English, including:

  • Abide in Christ
  • Absolute Surrender
  • Be Perfect
  • Divine Healing
  • God's Will: Our Dwelling Place
  • Holy in Christ
  • How to Raise Your Children for Christ
  • Humility: The Beauty of Holiness
  • Let Us Draw Nigh
  • Like Christ
  • Money
  • The Deeper Christian Life
  • The Lord's Table
  • The Holiest of All: An Exposition of the Epistle to the Hebrews
  • The Master's Indwelling
  • The Ministry of Intercession
  • The Power of the Blood of Christ
  • The Prayer Life
  • The School of Obedience
  • The Spirit of Christ
  • The Spiritual Life
  • The True Vine
  • The Two Covenants
  • Thy Will Be Done
  • Waiting on God
  • With Christ in the School of Prayer
  • Working for God!
  • The Dearth of Conversions
  • Jesus Himself
  • Lord Teach Us to Pray Or, The Only Teacher

References

  1. ↑ "Murray, Andrew". Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa. 7. Nasou Limited. 1971. p. 653. ISBN 978-0-625-00324-2.
  2. ↑ Ross, Thomas D. (2014), "Andrew Murray, Keswick / Higher Life Leader: a Biographical Sketch", The Doctrine of Sanctification: An Exegetical Examination, with Application, in Historic Baptist Perspective, to which is Appended a Historical, Exegetical, and Elenctic Evaluation of Influential Errors, Particularly the Keswick Theology, Great Plains Baptist Divinity School
  3. ↑ "The Life of Andrew Murray of South Africa By J Du Plessis". www.electricscotland.com. Archived from the original on 29 December 2017. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  4. ↑ du Plessis, J. The Life of Andrew Murray. Appendix B, p. 526-535.
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