And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; so they sewed together fig leaves and made coverings for themselves.Their eyes were opened, and they both knew that they were naked. They sewed fig leaves together, and made coverings for themselves.And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig-leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
8 sermons cite this verse
… salvation didn't start in the New Testament. The genesis of this idea is, well, in the book of Genesis. It begins on the opening pages of the Old Testament. In Genesis 3 verse 7, look what happened after Adam and Eve rebelled against God. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings. Remember this, sin always produces guilt, and guilt always produces a desire for a covering. All of us innately feel guilty when we sin, and that guilt always produces a desire to cover over our guilt. And that's what Adam and Eve did. The first thing they did was after they were aware of their sin, they tried to sew together their own cover to hide their nakedness. But notice what happened in Genesis 3, 8, when God came looking for them in the cool of the day. It was the coolest part of the day. A wind was blowing probably. …
… see what happens when they eat from the fruit it says that their eyes were open both of them that's Genesis 3 verse 7 it says then the eyes of both of them were open and they knew that they were naked. Now, wait a minute. Before they ate from the fruit, they had no idea what they looked like. They weren't concerned about themselves at all. There is something that happens when they eat from the fruit that now makes them more conscious about themselves. That means that when God gave them eyesight, the eyesight wasn't meant to be centered on them. He made them blind to who they are because for what he's called them to do, they don't even really matter. He called them to have dominion. He called them to be fruitful and to multiply. He called them to subdue. He never called them to be worried about themselves. So the enemy opens their eyes to them. And now at a time where their vision should be focused on what's happening outside of them, all they see is what's wrong with them. …
I'm in Genesis chapter 3, verses 5 through 7. I have to tell you, I gave them a different text this morning at 7 a.m. Then at 8.30 a.m., God gave me something different. And under normal circumstances, that would stress me out. But I only got four hours of sleep, and sometimes you got to choose between stress and standing up to it. So we're going to stand up to it. God's been speaking to me about this and I think I think it may actually be a series but I'm going to see what happens in the time that I've been given this morning but God's been speaking to me specifically about identity and I know it has a lot to do with what I am experiencing on the identity level but I've looked at it from so many different angles New Testament, Old Testament. So I'm going to just ask that you all would pray with me as I attempt to articulate what God has placed in my heart as it relates to our identities. For those of you who take notes, my subject is take another look. Take another look. I'm going to start in Genesis 3. …
… and she also gave some to her husband who was with her and he ate. And the eyes of both were opened and they knew that they were naked and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. And they heard the sound of the Lord walking in the garden in the cool of the day. And the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, Where are you? And he said, I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, and I hid myself. He said, who told you? God said, who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat? The man said, the woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate. Then the Lord God said to the woman, what is this that you have done? …
wow look at that wow look at that real quick I gotta teach it but look at that God immediately is connecting his dysfunction to his disobedience Thank you. He doesn't even litigate all of the confusion. He's saying there's a one-stop shop for your confusion, and it's disobedience. and your disobedience has opened now a Pandora's box, and more specifically, not just your disobedience, but your disobedience to the word I spoke. then the man said it gets even more dysfunctional then the man said the woman who you gave to be with me now he's blaming the lord he's so dysfunctional he is now accusing god of being dysfunctional it was a bad idea god you giving me that woman was a terrible idea god you ought to be look at how crazy we get how insane we get when we disconnect from the word. And the man said to the woman, the man said, the woman whom you gave to me with me, she gave me of the tree and I ate. …
… Oh, so she gave to her husband with her and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were open and they knew, excuse me, they knew that they were naked. Isn't that amazing? Their light went out and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings all over their body, not just private parts. And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, which was normal. That was the norm. Wow, wouldn't that be amazing to hear God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. What did that sound like? Oh my gosh, that'd be awesome. And Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God called to Adam and said, where are you? Translation, I know exactly where you're at because I know all things. So when I say, where are you? Say, I'm right here. Confess. So where are you? …
… ashamed. They had no shame. But then in Genesis chapter 3, they sin. And the first thing we read after that is verse 7. The eyes of both of them were open. They knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. And it looks like that's the same word that we saw at the end of Genesis chapter 2. But it's actually a different word here in Genesis chapter 3 that's used in other places in the Old Testament to describe God's people and their guilt for sin. Places like, we don't have time to turn to these, but Deuteronomy chapter 28, verse 48, and Ezekiel chapter 16, verse 39, and 23, verse 29. So chapter 2 is basically giving us a picture of innocent nakedness with no shame that God has designed for marriage, yet as soon as sin enters the picture in Genesis 3, there's a guilt and a shame that mark Adam and Eve's relationship with each other and with God. And that is the reality that every marriage in the world lives in. It's the uniting of two sinners, two people who have turned against the goodness of God and who are prone to walk away from him. And that sounds obvious, but I think it's overlooked. I mean, how many wives lean over to their husbands on their honeymoon and whisper softly in their ears, I am a massive sinner and I am yours for life. That does not get the romance going, but it's true. I hate to break it to us, but according to scripture, marriage is bringing …
… and pleasing to the eye and desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and she ate it. She also gave some to her husband who was with her and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were open and they realized they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day. And they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to them, where are you? And he answered, I heard you in the garden and I was afraid because I'm naked. So I hid. And he said, who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from? And the man said, the woman you put here with me, she gave me some of the fruit from the tree and I ate it. And the Lord God said to the woman, what is this you have done? And the woman said, the serpent deceived me. And so I ate. …