“And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.”
God’s creation is complete, it is all very good, and it is difficult for corrupted humanity to comprehend. This is no less obvious than in Genesis 2:25, where two descriptions are made about humanity in its perfect state: revealed and without shame.
The man and his wife were naked. They were revealed. But there is no negative connotation. Being revealed with no negative attached is already extraordinary for life in a sinful world. All it takes is a single, honest, self-inspective glance to see that nakedness—revealing ourselves—reveals the imperfections of the sins of our heart. Physical clothes are illustrative of the “spiritual clothes” we use to cover up the dark smears on our own souls. As the Holy Spirit wakes us up to this “cosmic coverup” (Ezekiel 36), we fly to the God who makes clean—to the God who can restore a nakedness with no negative attached.
Being revealed with no negative is one thing. Being revealed with no negative and without shame is another. To be naked on your own before God alone is one thing. To be naked—revealed—with another or others and without shame is something different! Before sin enters the world, nakedness reigns, but shame is nonexistent. This means a (literal) world of difference. There is no one to take advantage of you. There is no one to exploit you. There is no one to use you. There is no one to hurt you. There is no one to shame you. There is no one to break you. On the other hand, there is no temptation to do those things. There is no broken desire that consumes you. With wonder, pause on such a reality that will be because of the work of Jesus Christ on humanity’s behalf.
To be both naked and not ashamed is to be without sin. This is only accomplished through faith in Jesus Christ and through Jesus’ work in coming again. Indeed, it is the continual call of Christians in this sinful world: Come, Lord Jesus! Come, O Lord, that what once was will be again.
“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”