We will now talk about clothing and food as they pertain to Christians. First, we will speak about clothing for Christians.
First, let us consider the meaning of clothing. In order to understand the need for clothing, we must go back to the very beginning.
Before man fell into sin, his clothing, perhaps, was a mere form of light around him. He was innocent, and he had no feeling of shame before the fall. Although he did not wear anything, he was not ashamed.
When sin came in, the first effect on man was the realization of his own nakedness; he felt ashamed immediately. Adam and Eve made aprons of fig leaves and put them on. This shows us the basic significance of clothing; it is for covering. Clothing is necessary because we need to cover ourselves. It is a pity that the aprons of fig leaves did not last. The leaves soon dried up, broke into pieces, and disintegrated. God then clothed man with animal skins. He prepared something solid and lasting for man. The purpose of this clothing was to cover the body.
Hence, clothes are for covering the body; they are not for exhibition. Any clothes which do not serve the simple purpose of covering the body are wrong. Clothing is for covering the body.
The Israelites wore sandals in the land of Judea. They did not have socks, and their feet were exposed to the earth. The rest of their body was covered with clothing. Other than their hands, feet, and head, their whole body was covered. When the priests went before God with the blood, the blood was applied to the thumb of the hand, the toe of the foot, and the ear. This shows us that the exposed areas had to be covered by the blood. The blood was not applied to the other parts of the body. The hands, feet, and head were the only areas which needed the blood. The other areas were covered by clothing. This shows us that the purpose of clothing is for covering. We must realize before God that it is proper for man to be covered.
Today’s degradation can be traced to man’s degeneration to his uncivilized state. In such a state he clothes himself scantily. It is improper for man to be scantily clothed. Clothing is for covering, and any clothing that is not for covering violates God’s definition of a covering. The blood is a type. Its spiritual significance points to the need of covering. Man has sinned and needs covering before God. Today any shortening of sleeves or hems, or any clothing which exhibits rather than covers the body, is of the world. God is not pleased with such clothing.
In view of this, the more covering a garment affords, the better it is. I am a sinner, and my need is to be completely covered before the Lord. I do not want any part of my being to be exposed before Him. We are Christians who are saved and who have put our trust in the Lord. However, we have no standing before the Lord unless we are fully covered by Him. We look for covering and pray that our whole being would be fully covered by Him so that every part of our being would be redeemed and saved. According to the type in the Scripture, whatever is not covered by one’s clothing must be covered by the blood. Our hands, feet, and head must all be under the blood.
When Adam and Eve sinned, their nakedness exposed their sin. Noah came out of the ark 1,656 years later. He planted a vineyard and became drunk. As a result, he took off his clothes and exposed himself. The first man ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and found himself naked. The next man found himself naked after eating the fruit of the vine. The second fall of man came when he did not put on the clothing he was supposed to put on. Adam fell from a state where he needed no clothing to a state where he needed clothing. Noah fell when he had clothing but did not put it on. In the Bible nakedness is a shame. It is something forbidden by the Scripture. This is the result of the second fall of man.