Pastor Tom Johnson, December 11, 2011
Our first grandparents, Adam and Eve, were created unclothed. In the image of God…male and female he created them. God said it was very good. Like all the other creatures on earth, we were only dressed in our own skin. We did not need clothing to protect us from the elements. We did not need to make a fashion statement or prove that we could afford designer clothing. We did not need a uniform to define our purpose. We were just human. And that is beautiful—fearfully and wonderfully made. Adam and Eve fell into sin. Their disobedience results in profound guilt and shame—so much so that they feel physically exposed and vulnerable—even ashamed of their own bodies. Adam and Eve invent clothing. They choose the leaves of fig trees for covering. And so they run and hide in nothing more than their organic skivvies. But God still sees them completely—even under their covering and hiding place. Apparently, God is disappointed with both their disobedience and their fig leaf undergarments. But even more importantly, out of compassion, love, and mercy, the first sacrifice is made in human history. God makes garments of animal skin for Adam and Eve and clothes them. Their shame is covered. Their sins are forgiven. They are loved and clothed by God. They enter the rest of their lives with the promise of a future Son. This Son will one day have his heel struck but will crush the serpents head with a fatal blow.
And since then, we use clothing for a number of reasons. We cover ourselves from the elements. Perhaps we communicate something about our mood, our personalities, our social status, or identify ourselves with a particular vocation such as a police officer, nurse, or postal worker. But nothing can cover the spiritual nakedness that we feel deep within—that sense of being exposed, vulnerable, and a helpless target. Nothing can cover the shame and guilt of sin—not food, drink, drug, activity, fame, or clothing can cover us. Only the righteousness of Christ can cover us. Only Jesus can adorn us with true beauty. This is the joy and promise that the prophet Isaiah wants to fill our lives with today. Isaiah sings a new song for us to sing:
“I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my whole being shall exult 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 a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”
God is still in the clothier business. He still dresses us. As children of God, we will never grow up. We are never able to dress ourselves. Jesus says, “unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Theologians call this the “alien righteousness” of God. That is, that we do not generate a righteousness of our own. We do not clothe ourselves spiritually. But it is an “alien” work—a work outside of ourselves—an out-of-the-world Divine act—where God clothes us.
From heaven to earth, Jesus came. He came to heal and preach the good news. He came to dress this world with his goodness. He died to cover our guilt and our shame. He rose again to dress us up in the power and glory of the resurrection. Jesus, the great Clothier came to dress us here on earth. And he will come again to dress us for eternity. Isaiah talks about this day like a garden where “righteousness and praise suddenly spring up before all the nations.”
Maybe you have seen those reality TV shows. Someone gets an extreme makeover. They lose weight. They get in shape. They choose a healthier lifestyle. And even though they are not necessarily “model material,” there is the big unveiling of this new person. You see them standing behind the paper screen. You only see their silhouette. The curtain lifts. The new person is revealed. Their loved ones’ jaws drop to the floor. Some gasp. Some scream. Some clap. They celebrate the new person.
So are we, dressed in the garments of salvation—the righteousness of Christ. So will we be on the day of our Lord’s return—dressed in the radiant robes of righteousness. John saw it in his vision in Revelation when he wrote, “I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands.” This, dear friend, is the new you—and the new me—decked out in the handsome and beautiful garments of salvation—the righteousness of Christ. And the day draws near when we will be even more gloriously dressed in robes that shine like the midday sun.
“I will celebrate in the Lord! From head to toe, I will shout his praises! For he has dressed me up in clothes of deliverance. He has covered me with a righteous robe! Like a groom’s boutonniere…like a bride’s wedding day jewelry…so will our new glory be internationally revealed on the day our Lord’s return.”
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
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