God and Nakedness
It may seem strange that Adam and Eve were not ashamed of their nakedness before they fell into sin. Yet afterward their first thought seems to have been the shame of their uncovering. This needs to be understood in the context of Genesis 3, where, after they sinned against God, “the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked” (3:7). This verse does not say they realized they had sinned. Rather, the first change in their psychology was the overwhelming realization of their nakedness, and their first impulse was to cover themselves.
When God asked Adam why he was hiding Adam said it was because he was naked (v. 10). He had been naked when God spoke with him before. What was different now? Adam was no longer comfortable being naked in God’s presence. A deep psychological connection exists between nakedness and shame.
Two things stand out in this passage. The first is that each of us has a deep need to find a place of security where we can be naked without shame. We long for a place where we can bare our souls to someone. We need to have a close relationship with a spouse with whom we can be naked in more than one sense of the term. Marriage is intended to be such a place of security. The good news of the gospel is that in Jesus Christ we are able to draw near to God as we cannot even with a spouse, opening our hearts to him without fear and shame.
Second, God permits us to cover ourselves. He made clothes for Adam and Eve because he recognized that we do not want to expose ourselves. Sin’s continuing reign on earth requires that we cover ourselves physically, spiritually, and psychologically. The “let it all hang out” attitude popular in the 1960s and 1970s has no foundation in biblical Christianity. Other people are untrustworthy. If you bare your soul to another sinner, be prepared to pay the consequences. With only a few people do we dare become intimate enough to bare our souls. The Bible forbids us to join in one flesh with anyone except our spouses. But we are invited to stand before our Lord unashamed and unafraid.
Since the start of the sexual revolution it seems that “serious” motion pictures must have at least token nudity. Other avenues of artistic expression brazenly flaunt nudity. Is such “artistic” nudity actually a form of active rebellion against God—an attempt to lose shame and guilt by searing the conscience? Evaluate your own exposure to such expression and ask God to help you deal responsibly with any struggle you may have with it.
Sproul, R.C., Before the Face of God: A Daily Guide for Living from the Old Testament, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books) 1994.
