August 23, 2025 - Malachi 3:1 - "Christ the Messenger"

Malachi 3:1

"Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts."

In this singular verse, the LORD, in sovereign wisdom, sets forth a promise of divine visitation—a coming not of man’s choosing, but of God’s eternal purpose. The prophet Malachi speaks not merely of an event in human history, but of the unfolding of God’s covenantal purpose to reconcile His people through Christ. The “messenger” sent to “prepare the way” is none other than the forerunner ordained by God, pointing His elect to the covenant-keeping Messiah.

This text reminds us that salvation is initiated and accomplished by God alone. The LORD comes “suddenly” to His temple, not according to the whims of men, but according to His eternal counsel, fulfilling the promises of His covenant. It is a promise that rests not on human effort, but on the sure foundation of God’s eternal decree.

Consider the gracious purpose of God in sending Christ to His temple: the fulfillment of prophecy, the establishment of His covenant, and the salvation of His chosen. We are exhorted to behold, not merely the messenger, but the LORD Himself, whose coming was both sudden and sovereign, bringing grace to undeserving sinners and glory to His Name.

Malachi preached at a difficult time in Israel’s history. The people had returned from exile, the temple was rebuilt, and yet the glory they expected had not arrived. Instead of rejoicing, they murmured. They complained that the wicked seemed to prosper while God appeared silent. Their words revealed unbelief: “Where is the God of judgment?” (Malachi 2:17). But the LORD answered that He had not abandoned His covenant people. He declared that two messengers would come. The first, John the Baptist, would go before the LORD to prepare the way (Isaiah 40:3; Matthew 11:10). The second, greater than the first, is the Messenger of the covenant—the LORD Jesus Christ Himself (John 1:14).

John the Baptist was no ordinary messenger. He would be the forerunner to announce the King’s arrival; Christ is the King (Matthew 21:5). Therefore, John preached repentance toward God even Faith toward the LORD Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God Who would bring in everlasting salvation by His coming, doing, dying and rising again (Luke 19:10). John was the voice crying in the wilderness, and Christ the Word made flesh (John 1:1–3). Where man had failed to keep the covenant of works, God Himself entered time, from eternity, and brought in salvation by His own hand in His Son the LORD Jesus (Hebrews 9:12).

Therefore, Christ is the true Messenger of the Covenant. Which covenant? Not the old covenant of law, which condemned Israel for their disobedience (Galatians 3:10), but the eternal Covenant of Grace, purposed before the foundation of the world between the Father and the Son and fulfilled by the Son in His coming to this earth in the fulness of the time appointed by the Father, (Galatians 4:4). In this covenant, the Son would take on flesh, bear the sins of His people, and accomplish their redemption for those sinners that the Father gave Him in eternity to save (John 6:37–39). Christ came not merely to announce this covenant, but to fulfill it, and to seal it with His precious blood shed unto death (Luke 22:20; Hebrews 13:20).

Malachi describes His coming as like a refiner’s fire and fuller’s soap (Malachi 3:2). Who can endure such a coming? Left to ourselves, none of us could. The fire of God’s holiness would consume us. Only the cleansing soap of Christ's death could put away the filth of our sin. Here we see the manifestation of God's grace: Christ endured the fire on behalf of His people. On the cross, He stood in the furnace of judgment, bearing the wrath they deserved, until the dross was removed and the work was finished (John 19:30). Those who trust in Him have been declared righteous, clothed in garments of righteousness that the LORD Jesus earned and established in His life, and finished at the cross. By Christ's shed blood unto death, they have been washed whiter than snow (Isaiah 8:18).

Think of what this means. God is not waiting for us to purify ourselves before we come to Him. He did the purifying through the work of Christ from conception to the cross (1 Corinthians 6:11). By His death on the cross, He has cleansed us from all sin, past, present and future (1 John 1:7). He established the covenant promised by His own work. Our salvation does not rest on our ability to believe or obey enough. It rests on the unchanging LORD Who says, “I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed” (Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8). Because He is faithful, His people are saved forever (John 10:28–29).

God chose a people not because of their goodness, but despite their sin. Christ came not as a potential Savior, but as the effectual Redeemer of those given Him by the Father (John 17:2). He did not merely make salvation possible; He accomplished it (Hebrews 10:14). And the Spirit now applies it to the hearts of all those for whom Christ died, bringing them to Himself in faith and keeping them by His power.

What then is our response to such grace and mercy in Christ? It is not to murmur as Israel did, nor to fear that things are out of control. Look at the stars—have they moved from their place? (Isaiah 40:26). The same God Who holds the constellations in place holds His people fast in His covenant of Grace (Psalm 147:1-6). Everything is exactly as He has decreed it to be. Therefore, those of us who are objects of God's electing and redeeming Grace rest in His Eternal Son, with Whom He established His covenant of Grace as the Messenger of His Covenant.

May we bow silently before Him without complaint, and lift our eyes to Him. When He came, He came not in condemnation of His chosen people, but in mercy (John 3:17). He entered His temple, He bore the judgment, and obtained the inheritance (Hebrews 9:15). And now He lives forever as our Mediator, our High Priest, and our King (Hebrews 7:25). Grace reigns. The Good News is that the covenant is fulfilled. In Christ, and those of us who are His chosen and redeemed race are saved, justified, and sanctified by Him forever.