Have you ever wondered why after God created Adam and Eve, they were in the Garden of Eden stark naked?  Why didn’t God make clothes for them initially?  God let them walk around the Garden of Eden naked for days, maybe weeks, maybe months.  God waited until they sinned before making clothes for them.  As we shall see, this has spiritual significance for us.

In order to answer the question of why God created Adam and Eve naked we first need to look as some Scriptures which show that the Bible uses clothing is a symbol of our character.

The Bible likens our righteousness to filthy rags.  Even the best of our actions is imperfect.  In God’s sight they are like filthy rags.

Isa 64:6  But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags;

A few chapters earlier, the Bible likens eternal life to robes of righteousness.

Isa 61:10  I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

In Zechariah 3:3 we see another example of where clothes are used to picture our state of righteousness before God.

Zec 3:3  Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel.
Zec 3:4  Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him.” And to him He said, “See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.”

The filthy garments picture iniquity.  The rich robes picture righteousness.

In the book of Revelation we see another example.  In speaking to the church in Sardis, Christ said:

Rev 3:5  He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.

A few verses later in verse 18, to the church in Laodicea, Christ said:

Rev 3:18  I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.

The Scriptures use clothing to picture our state of righteousness (or unrighteousness) before God.  What of Adam and Eve?  Why did God wait until they sinned before making clothes for them?  The initial nakedness of Adam and Eve pictured an absence of character.  When God created them, they were neither righteous nor wicked.  But after they sinned, they formed unrighteous character, and that’s when God clothed them.  God clothed them with tunics of animal skin.  Some poor animal had to die, impressing upon Adam and Eve that sin leads to death. 

There is more that can be gleaned from this.  There is a parable which relates to clothing, the parable of the Wedding Feast in Matthew 22. 

Mat 22:2  “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son,
Mat 22:3  and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come.
Mat 22:4  Again, he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding.” ‘
Mat 22:5  But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business.
Mat 22:6  And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them.
Mat 22:7  But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.
Mat 22:8  Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy.
Mat 22:9  Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.’
Mat 22:10  So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests.
Mat 22:11  “But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment.
Mat 22:12  So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless.
Mat 22:13  Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

This Wedding Garment is the garment of salvation and the robe of righteousness of Isa 61:10; the rich robes of Zech 3:4; and the white garment of Revelation 3:5,18.  The parable of the Wedding Feast shows that we need these garments to enter the Kingdom of God.  The garments are a gift of God, but what criteria does God use when He decides to whom He will give wedding garments and to whom He will not?  We read a verse earlier which tells us.  In Revelation 3:5, to the church in Sardis, Christ said:

Rev 3:5  He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.

Although the wedding garments of salvation are a gift, nevertheless, we must overcome.  The man without wedding garments did not overcome; he was bound hand and foot, taken away, and cast into outer darkness.  The important message for us is that we must overcome.  We must overcome our carnal nature; we must overcome sin.  The apostle Paul instructed us to put on the Lord Jesus Christ.  We need to be clothed with Jesus Christ; we need to become like Him.

Rom 13:14  But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to [fulfill its] lusts.

In conclusion, the Bible uses clothing as a symbol of our character.  The Bible likens our righteousness to filthy rags, and God’s righteousness to white garments.  In this life we need to put on Jesus Christ; we need to overcome so that God will clothe us with the white garments of salvation.  If we do not overcome, we will be bound hand and foot, taken away, and cast into outer darkness there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.