Introduction
According to the Bible, the Lord God created man "naked and not ashamed," but when man sinned against the Lord by disobeying Him, he became aware of his nakedness and thus afraid, so he tried to hide from Him. Today, most people continue to do the same thing. They try to hide their nakedness from not only God but also everyone else. The question is, although man sinned and now feels the need to hide, is that what God wants or expects? Is it possible for you to live "naked and not ashamed" again, even physically so?
Although there are many views on this subject, believers generally consider the Bible to be direct revelation from the Lord God, and thus the final authority in any matter. For those who feel this way, we must abide by whatever we read in the Bible because we know it is from the Lord. Jesus Himself said, "Then you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free" (John 8:32). He even said, "I am the Truth" (John 14:6) and "so if the Son sets you free, you will be free in deed" (John 8:36).
Begin at the Beginning
As we read in the book of Genesis, we see God created humans and placed them in a perfect environment where He fellowshipped with them daily. What is important is that these first humans fellowshipped with God completely naked -- complete openness, honesty, trust and intimacy. The scriptures declare, they "were both naked, and they felt no shame" (Genesis 2:25). In their sinless, God established state, their physical nakedness demonstrated their attitude or mindset. Consider the fact that even today our most intimate times involve nakedness.
Now, looking up the word shame, we see it means "guilt for improper behavior." Using that definition, we could rephrase "they were naked and they felt no shame" as "they were naked and they felt no guilt for improper behavior." Why didn't they feel shame? Why "no guilt for improper behavior"? Because "To the pure ALL THINGS are pure..." and "EVERYTHING created by God is good and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving..." (Titus 1:15 and 1 Timothy 4:4 respectively). (Obviously, "all things" and "everything" does not include those things the Lord specifically forbids.) They did not hide because they did not have a reason to hide. Living naked before God and each other was right (or righteous) and good. In fact, the scriptures say, "God SAW ALL that He had made, and it was very good" (Genesis 1:31).
So Adam and Eve were pure and good, and they had no reason to hide. They did not even realize they were naked because it was normal; it was just the way God made them. "But, sin seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in..." them a "...covetous desire" to have that which God had forbidden (Romans 7:8). Through doubt and unbelief, they sinned against God, disobeying Him and doing what they wanted to do instead. And what was the result? "Then the eyes of them were opened and they realized they were naked; so THEY sewed fig leaves together and made coverings FOR THEMSELVES" (Genesis 3:7). Worth noting, one translation says they made "aprons," meaning that, even after sinning, Eve did not feel the need to cover her breasts. They felt covering just their genitals was enough. The question is, was that enough (in God's eyes)?
Given their reasons, maybe covering themselves in any way was actually too much. After all, not only did they sin against the Lord by disobeying a direct order, but they also dishonored Him, actually continuing to sin, by trying to hide His handiwork, His "image." So why did they cover themselves? Adam said, "...I was AFRAID because I was naked; so I hid...they hid from the Lord God..." (Genesis 3:10). Notice they sought to hide from the Lord, and not each other. So again, why? Fear, plain and simple! Why were they afraid? Because, as 1 John 4:18 says, "Fear has to do with punishment."
First, we read "they were naked and they felt no shame." Now we read "I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid." First, "they felt no guilt for improper behavior." Now they do; now they feel shame. Feeling this shame and being afraid of the consequences of their sin, they TRIED to "hide" themselves from the Lord God. Of course, they did not succeed because "nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight; everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account" (Hebrews 4:13). In spite of their coverings, seeking to hide, they remained naked to the Lord.
As you follow along, you notice the Lord God came looking for His (naked) children. (He does that you know?) When He could not find them, or rather, when He knew they were hiding, He called to them, asking, "Where are you?" Since we know the Lord knows everything, we know He was not asking this question as though He did not know the answer but rather He expected them to acknowledge the truth. That is, He asked them to "give an account" and "confess their sin."
When they admitted their fear, their feeling naked, and their hiding as the result, the Lord asked, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?" (Genesis 3:11). Realize again, the Lord God already knew the answer and so He wanted them to not only give further account, but also to understand the truth for themselves -- that is, who had influenced them, how their relationship changed, etc. Important in understanding all of this is the fact that, through the Lord's question, we learn He never told them they were naked or that it was wrong. In essence, the Lord pointed out that the one who told them they were naked and should thus put some clothes on, is the same one who told them to eat "from the tree that [the Lord] commanded [him] not to eat from." That is, they repeatedly judged and decided for themselves what they wanted and thought was best, disregarding what God wanted and had established as best.
The truth is, God created man naked and established nakedness as His norm. This nakedness demonstrates what He wanted and what He thought was best, and it serves, among other things, as a physical sign. First, it displays His glory, His handiwork, His "image." How would you feel if someone was ashamed of your best work, maybe a excellent portrait of you, and thus tried to hide it? I imagine God's enemy, the devil, enjoyed seeing how they treated God's image, and I imagine he continues to enjoy seeing how people continue to treat it today. Second, it demonstrates He expects open, honest, trusting and intimate relationships. In fact, by clothing themselves (and trying to hide in other ways, too), they were actually acknowledging their unwillingness to be open, honest and trusting with the Lord. They did not trust the Lord God to deal with them in love and grace, but they feared His judgment because, again, "fear has to do with punishment" (1 John 4:18).
Remain Naked and Unashamed
The Lord did not intend Adam and his wife to hide as a result of the shame they experienced, rather it should have steered them to Him so that they could receive forgiveness. "For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all" (Roman 11:32). As I pointed out already, the Lord God already knew the answers to the questions He had asked, and so He wanted them to confess their sin in order that "He may have mercy on them."
Instead of hiding, they should have ran to the loving arms of their Savior, the Lord, and sought His forgiveness. As Proverbs 28:13 says, "He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy." Instead of dressing up to hide, they should have remained naked, "confessing and renouncing" their sin, understanding that "God is love" (1 John 4:16) and "there is no fear in love but perfect love drives out fear" (1 John 4:18). Of course, that is what this story, and the whole Bible, is all about -- us learning about the Lord God and how He loves us.
So the Lord God sought out these creatures He created and loved, but their imperfect love for Him bound them to sin, fear and hiding. How did the Lord deal with them when He found them and they finally began admitting their guilt? Now "the Lord is righteous, He loves justice..." (Psalm 11:7) "for the Lord is a God of justice" (Isaiah 30:18), therefore, He must judge sin. However, because "God is love," He always deals with us through grace, mercy and "perfect love." In this case, immediately after He pronounced the various curses (Genesis 3:14-19) and before He "banished them from the Garden" (Genesis 3:23), "the Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and [HE] clothed them" (Genesis 3:21).
So now you ask, how does this show His grace, mercy and love? You may even ask, doesn't this just prove that God now expects us to wear clothes at all times? Well, when you consider the context of the situation, when you consider God's character, including the fact that He established nakedness in the Garden as the norm, and when you consider the fact that God never ever declared nakedness a sin, you realize God merely provided for man's new needs. Between the curses and banishment from the Garden, man needed clothing. Right in the middle of the results of man's sin, we read how the Lord God provided for man's new needs.
In a way, these clothes were a gift from God. Not only are they part of the curse, another result of sin, but they are also a part of the blessing. Man clothed himself because of fear but God clothed man because of love. Through this, we realize the Lord demonstrated that He alone provides for our needs and He does so out of His love for us. Additionally, in its own way, it even foreshadows the Lord's greatest gift and provision, His own Son, the gift of Christ or salvation. "You who were baptized in Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ" (Galatians 3:27). (Also see, 1 Corinthians 15:54, 2 Corinthians 5:1-4, Ephesians 6:11, Romans 13:11-14 and 1 Thessalonians 5:7-8). "He [Jesus Christ] is the atoning sacrifice for our sins..." (1 John 2:1).
Clothed and Ashamed No More
Although our sin separates us from God, He still wants to us to know Him and fellowship with Him. In fact, He created us for that very purpose; it is our "purpose in life." The problem is, as a truly righteous and holy God, He must judge and condemn sin. So what does He do? If He judges us for our sins, He will condemn us, but if He covers our sin, then He will accept us. "You who were baptized in Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ" (Galatians 3:27) and "therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1). He covers us completely. He covers ALL our shame. "The one who trusts in Him will never be put to shame" (Romans 9:33, 1 Peter 2:6). "Never"? Never!
We therefore no longer need to be ashamed, but we can once again stand naked before God and man without shame. Of course, being "naked and not ashamed" requires you to walk in His righteousness, to see yourself and others with pure eyes, and to "drive out fear" through "perfect love" for others by removing the fig leaf "apron" you have used to hide.
Remember this... "THEY MADE clothes for themselves." THEY separated themselves from God. THEY hid in fear. They did not promote the Lord's righteousness, but rather their own. They established a human regulation (or "tradition") whereby everyone is generally "afraid" of openness, honesty and trust. They established clothing as a barrier, as a way to hide. They decided they did not want to reveal who or what they really were. Unfortunately, "the judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation [to all]" (Romans 5:16), meaning many today still use clothing this same way.
Our Extremist World
Not only has society inherited Adam and Eve's phobias about nakedness, but it now goes to extremes. While there are a few practical reasons to dress (and generally only at specific times), society declares the human body indecent, obscene, lewd and merely sexual (basically, at all times). It declares your naked body unacceptable, and forces you to cover it or "hide" it. It makes public nudity a crime, and you a criminal just for being nude in public. Society's idea is that all nudity is sensual, sexual, perverted or depraved. Of course, that is because "to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure" (Titus 1:15).
The problem is, we all suffer under this tyranny. Your body suffers, and your whole being suffers. Unlike food and water, clothing is truly only necessary under certain specific circumstances e.g. protecting it from injury or the weather. Even more, like food and water, you can overdo it, or not do it enough. When you eat or drink too much, or not enough, you suffer for it (and you can even kill yourself). Wearing clothes or going nude is similar. When you wear clothes too much, or do not go nude enough, you suffer for it. After all, your skin is the largest organ of your body, and it works best when uncovered, when allowed to work as designed. It only makes sense that your whole being benefits when you use your body correctly, as God or nature designed it. What other creature enjoys or prefers clothing the way we do?
Even arguing that we wear clothes to protect others and ourselves from sensuality and lust does not work. "Do not let anyone take you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which DEPENDS ON HUMAN TRADITION AND THE BASIC PRINCIPLES OF THIS WORLD rather than ON CHRIST" (Colossians 2:8). "Such regulations indeed have the appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they LACK ANY VALUE IN RESTRAINING sensual indulgence" (Colossians 2:23). According to these scriptures, these laws we put in place to criminalize nudity do not restrain sensuality at all. As Colossians 2:23 says, "They lack any value in restraining." "So I say, live by the (Holy) Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature" (Galatians 5:16). You can "gratify the desires of the sinful nature" while still fully dressed; your state of dress has no bearing. People sin because they are sinners, and only by knowing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior can you truly escape sin's power, and live in true morality (see Romans 3).
Many people try to teach us that our bodies, or certain parts of them, are somehow unclean. With such thinking, being seen naked, or seeing others naked, somehow means depravity or sensuality. Such teachers "promise freedom" from depravity through being clothed. "They (false teachers) promise freedom, while they themselves are slaves to depravity - for a man is a slave to WHATEVER has mastered him" (2 Peter 2:19-20). How can we break free from society's extremist ideas? Change your thinking. See the human body as "clean," and good. "I am fully convinced that NOTHING is unclean of itself. But if someone considers something unclean then for him it is unclean" (Romans 14:14). The truth is, nudity is not "unclean of itself." Nudity becomes "unclean" through misuse, and even then it is the misuse that is wrong. Consider food again as one example. If you eat too much for too long, or too little for too long, it can kill you. How about sex? In the wrong context (e.g. outside of marriage), that is, when you misuse it, it is wrong. The bottom line is, whatever good thing we use as our example, it is always the misuse that is wrong.
What I wonder is, should we outlaw a good thing, or outlaw its misuse? For instance, when someone drives drunk and they harm or injury someone, they misuse their vehicle and their privilege to drive. (You realize driving is a privilege, right?) Should we therefore pass laws outlawing vehicles or driving drunk? I think the answer is obvious. Again, we should apply this same logic to everything else. How about nudity? Yes, nudity, too!
Unfortunately, instead of dealing with those who misuse nudity (those using it in truly perverse and lewd ways), that is, instead of outlawing its misuse, society tends to outlaw nudity altogether. Again, should we really have such laws, or should we rather outlaw its misuse? Shouldn't we rather outlaw only those who commit lewd acts, and who cause real injury or harm with their nude activities? That is what I believe.
The truth is, simply being nude is not lewd or impure. In fact, the Lord God commanded the Apostle Peter, "Do not call anything impure that God has made clean" (Acts 10:15). In this case, the Lord's command applies to us and our naked bodies because "God has made [us, including our naked bodies] clean" through the blood of Jesus Christ, and through understanding this truth. Additionally, only by living in a clothing optional environment, where nudity is acceptable and "normal," will we fully understand this truth and walk free from calling the body anything other than what God calls it. I mean, how does living in a forced clothing environment help you realize the benefits of the CORRECT USE of your body? Think about it. It doesn't!
Satan, and man, through sin, has perverted the good things of God so much that now, when we see the truth, we think it makes no sense. In this case, being naked before God and man seems foolish. Any *average person* think this way these days! What does the Bible say about this? "But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things - and the things that are not - to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before Him" (1 Corinthians 1:28-29). Society sees going nude as a "foolish thing," a "weak thing," a "lowly thing," and a "despised thing," but "God chose" it as is norm in the Garden and "so that no one may boast before Him."
In 1 John 2:15-16, we read, "BOASTING OF WHAT HE HAS AND DOES - comes not from the Father but from the world." When you go nude you have no reason to boast about "what you have," your MANMADE possessions, your clothes, but you are then what God made you -- His good and "wonderfully made" creation. "God SAW ALL that He had made, and it was very good" (Genesis 1:31). And for those who still think the naked body is evil (or "foolish," "weak," "lowly," something to be "despised"), God warns, "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil..." (Isaiah 5:20).
God is Naked?
In closing, it may surprise you to realize Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, wears only a brilliant light, the splendor of His own glory. Psalms 104:1-2 says, "O Lord my God, you are very great; you are clothed with splendor and majesty. He wraps himself in light as with a garment." Habakkuk 3:4 says, "His splendor was like the sunrise; rays flashed from his hand, where his power was hidden."
Consider all the reasons you think you should wear clothes. Now, how do those reasons apply to Jesus? Is He ashamed? Is He subject to sin? Does He sexualize or objectify the body, or consider the naked body unacceptable or lewd? Considering what we know from the scriptures, He needs no external garment, and He certainly has no reason to be ashamed or "hide." In fact, while we seek to hide the truth, He says, "I am The Truth" (John 14:6).
When Jesus came to earth as a man (God in the flesh), He "stripped" Himself of His heavenly glory, setting aside all that was His, which is everything. "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich" (1 Corinthians 8:9). When it was time for the Lord Jesus to depart into heaven, He prayed, "Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had before the world began" (John 17:5). Then they beat Him, mocked Him, and hung Him on a cross -- naked. "There were many who were appalled at him - his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness" (Isaiah 52:14). "When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. 'Let's not tear it,' they said to one another. 'Let's decide by lot who will get it'" (John 19:23).
Although He was within full view of everyone, He did not "hide," and He was not ashamed. "Jesus...who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning it's shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:2). So now, after His resurrection, we see "high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man...from what appeared to be his waist up He looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him. Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the APPEARANCE OF THE LIKENESS OF THE GLORY OF THE LORD" (Ezekiel 1:26-28). And "the Son [Jesus Christ] is the radiance of God's glory, and the exact representation of His being..." (Hebrews 1:3).
In the end, we must understand that the only clothing we truly require at all times is Jesus Christ Himself. Anything else is vanity and pride. For those who do not believe, it is time to put on Christ, or else your shame will remain. Even your high moral standards and right living (your "fig leaf apron") will not save you. For those who do believe, you are clothed in Christ, and so you have no shame or reason to hide. You can therefore be "naked and not ashamed." "If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than... 'the Good News that Jesus is the Christ' ...let Him be eternally condemned!" (Acts 5:42, Galatians 1:9).
Misuse is Wrong
If I have not made it abundantly clear, misuse of nudity (and also of clothing) is what is truly wrong. And, the Lord requires proper clothing, Jesus Christ. The Lord God will accept you no other way. So, even now, God looks for you the way He did Adam and Eve, looking to fellowship with you. He calls out to you, "Where are you?" "What have you done?" He knows, but He looks to hear from you. So instead of doubting God's love for you, as did Adam and Eve, run to Him, naked and not ashamed, confessing your sin. Let Him remove your fig leaves. Let Him clothe you with His sacrifice, His Son, Jesus Christ, the Lord.
Special thanks to...
Pastor Mark Markenson of Christian Naturists for publishing the original version of this article in his newsletter, Reflections of the Spirit.
Jim Cunningham, editor of Naturist LIFE International, and his family, for publishing the original version of this article in Issue 20 of their magazine, Naturist LIFE International.
All scriptures NIV unless otherwise noted. Emphasis mine.