Naked and Unashamed (The Genesis Archives Pt. 3)

By Ife J. Ibitayo

For Part 1, “Let There Be Light”, click here. For Part 2, “Recycling and the Image of God”, click here.

“Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame” (Genesis 2:25).

Naked is not only a provocative word today, but it’s also a rare word. We live in a cover-up culture. Women cover up their faces with foundation, concealer, blush, and mascara. Men cover up their true personalities with brash jokes and crude humor. We all cover up our true selves with carefully crafted photos on Instagram and clips on TikTok. Why is one of the few universal truths of life the need to play make believe?

Naked Before Man

The Bible’s answer is sin. As soon as Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, “Their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves” (Genesis 3:7). Shame only exists when we have something to hide. And from that day on, we’ve been trying to hide from God and from each other.

Yet God hasn’t taken away our desire for intimacy. In many books I’ve read, men have poured out their hearts to their lovers. They know they must expose the skeletons in their closets to the eyes of their special someone. We want to know that our sweetheart can love our unloveliness because instinctively we all know that love can only thrive in exposure, with unclothed hearts and bodies, with the very real threat of rejection overcome by acceptance.

Naked Before God

We know this is true with those we love here on earth, but we act as if it’s not true with God. The author of the book of Hebrews said, “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked before His eyes” (Hebrews 4:13). God possesses true x-ray vision. He sees every part of us, from our physical form to our invisible spirit. Yet I’m moved by His response to Adam and Eve after the Fall. Genesis 3 says that God went for His daily walk in the garden of Eden. Not seeing His friends, He asks them, “Where are you?” In reply, Adam says, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.” But God said, “Who told you that you were naked” (Genesis 3:10-11)?

God is not playing dumb in this conversation. He is making a crucial point here. He’s saying, “I didn’t say you were naked, so who told you that you were?” He already knew of Adam and Eve’s nakedness when they exposed themselves to sin. But His first response was not condemnation but connection. When Adam and Eve hid from God, He drew near. When they eschewed contact, He initiated conversation because God still loves us, broken messes that we are, even when we mess up.

Conclusion

But there is still the matter of sin. Adam and Eve instinctively knew they had to hide from God after they sinned because sin must be paid for. But what recourse did Adam and Eve have to repay God?

This question will be answered in “The Genesis Archives Pt. 4.”

“As Scripture says, ‘Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.'”

(Romans 10:11)