Genesis 3:21 Yahweh God made garments of animal skins for Adam and for his wife and clothed them. WEB
Take our key verse and get an image of our loving God covering the nakedness of Adam and Eve. They have sinned and they knew it. They were ashamed and afraid. “…and God clothed them.”
Read the conversation between God and Adam.
“Where are you, Adam?” God called, as He walked in the cool of the day. “I am here.”, Adam replied.
“Why are you hiding from Me,?”
The man said, “I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; so, I hid myself.”
God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” Genesis 3:9-11 WEB
“We are exposed.” This is the story of everyone. We have willingly broken God’s law and will do it again. God is not surprised that we use the breath, hands, minds or feet that He gave us to sin against Him. He just loves us.
Take a look at these two further into the story. Genesis 3:12-13 WEB They are still rebellious sinners, right to the face of God. They lied after they were caught in the first sin. They even blamed God for their sin. That is evil being used against God, who created Adam and Eve, in power and in love. Who does that sound like? It sounds like You and me.
Sin still has to be punished. The first blood was shed because of Adam and Eve’s sin. An innocent animal paid the price to cover their nakedness. God did not accept the fig leaves they had fashioned together to cover their nakedness because it was used to cover their sin.
So, God demonstrated the first sacrifice of animals. This was a picture of what was to come. Sin is so deadly that only blood from a perfect Source would suffice to cover our sin.
This was the sacrifice required of the perfect Lamb for us all.
Jesus. . .
God is holy and perfect. God is sinless and pure. He is the brightest white.
Think of the most beautiful snowfall that you have ever seen. Not even a blade of grass sticking up through it nor a smudge of dirt upon it. When the sun hits the surface, the brightness is blinding.
Our God is purer than that. He is brighter than that. And He chose to dress filthy sinners in the covering of His equal and holy Light.
Jesus . . .
When we come to Him with the confession “we are exposed”, our Father lovingly stoops to clothe us in His best.
Jesus . . .
“At salvation, you have literally stepped into Jesus.” 1
“…Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow…” Isaiah 1:18 WEB
Lord Jesus, Cover Me.
Colossians 3:4 …And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed, then you will also be revealed with Him in Glory… WEB
Jesus lovingly stooped to cover our nakedness, secrets, fears and sin. Even our death is covered by that precious blood. True believers never again need to fear our sin being exposed to holy God.
This brings us to a part of Colossians 3 that many believers often use to try to save the lost world.
We must understand, the Gospel is intended for everyone. But God’s law is the moral standard for believers, not those on the outside. Lost people have eyes that are blind. Non-believers will only ever be convinced by the power of the Holy Spirit. The lost just cannot see. And neither could we.
Look at Colossians 3:5-9. WEB
Thoughtfully read over the list. If you are a believer, those sins should not be a habitual downfall for you. That is the old life.
If you are in Christ. Colossians 3:11 ” …Christ is all, and in all.”
Now look at the new clothes of a believer in Jesus. Colossians 3:12-16
Put on therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness, humility, and perseverance; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, if any man has a complaint against any; even as Christ forgave you, so you also do.
Above all these things, walk in love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body and…
be thankful.
For God, in all His fullness, was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled
everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. NLT
I hope that you will grab your favorite version of the Bible and read to the end of this letter from Paul. Look at what our Savior did. Be inspired by the fire in Paul’s letter to the Colossians and go to your world with the saving Gospel of Jesus!
Resources
- gotquestions.org
“what does it mean that we are hidden with Christ in God?
Article – Colossians 3:3
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This page last updated: September 12, 2022 ↩︎
Getting the Seed out of the basket and into hungry hearts. Matthew 13 