SWORD OF THE SPIRIT   1002

“Fuller’s Soap”

“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.

 But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. -Malachi 3:1-2

Here Malachi prophesies of the first and second coming of Jesus. These two verses are rich with spiritual nourishment.

I send my messenger – This refers to John the Baptist who will herald the way for Jesus’ ministry.

…prepare the way before Me. – Note that the ‘Me’ refers to Father God. Here, Jesus and the Father are declared to be one. Jesus stated this also:  I and the Father are one.” -John 10:30

…the messenger of the covenant…he is coming… – Again this is a reference to Jesus as the messenger of the new covenant. …He (Jesus) is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance… – Hebrews 9:15

…who can endure the day of his coming…– The theological consensus is that this refers to the second coming of Christ. “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.- Matthew 24:36 The answer to the question posited by Malachi is that those who have been refined and washed clean by Jesus will be able to endure and stand at His second coming.

For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. – Jesus did not abandon us when He ascended into heaven. He is continually interceding for us before the Father and by His Holy Spirit, He continues to purify and cleanse us, The Body of Christ, The Church, His Bride to prepare us for the day of His return…behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20

In His Name, the Father sent the Holy Spirit to guide, teach, and convict. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you…And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:–John 14:26; John 16:8

The process of fulling fresh woven wool involved cleaning, bleaching, wetting, and beating the cloth to purify it. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! Psalm 51:2

The process of refining precious metal involved tremendous heat to remove the dross and impurities. For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried…we went through fire and through water; yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance. -Psalm 66:10-12

May the Lord be as a refiner and fuller in your life as He prepares you to stand before Him at the last day, clothed in His righteousness, justified by His sacrifice for you, eternally saved.