More Than Medicine
More Than Medicine
DWDP: Gen 2; 25 Why Cant We be Naked and Unashamed?
What does it mean to be "naked and unashamed"? Dr. Robert Jackson takes us deep into Genesis 2:25, unpacking this deceptively simple verse to reveal profound truths about our human condition. Through personal stories about his son Thomas, who has Down Syndrome, Dr. Papa illustrates the difference between childlike innocence and the perfect sinlessness Adam and Eve experienced before the fall.
The devotion traces humanity's journey from innocence to shame, exploring why we instinctively hide our wrongdoing from others and even attempt to hide from God Himself. With characteristic warmth and biblical insight, Dr. Jackson reveals how Adam and Eve's immediate need for covering after sin entered the garden points to our universal struggle with guilt and shame.
Most powerfully, this devotion connects God's first act of mercy—making garments of skin to cover Adam and Eve—with Christ's ultimate sacrifice. That first animal death in the perfect garden wasn't accidental but divinely designed as the first step in "the trail of blood" leading to Calvary. Dr. Jackson helps us see the seamless redemptive narrative from Eden to the cross, where the Lamb of God provides the only covering that truly removes our sin and shame. If you've ever struggled with guilt or wondered about God's plan through human history, this devotion offers both comfort and clarity about the covering we all desperately need.
Love these devotions? Share them with friends who might need this message of hope and redemption. Visit jacksonfamilyministry.com for more resources and to learn about Dr. Jackson's books and speaking engagements.
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Welcome to More Than Medicine, where Jesus is more than enough for the ills that plague our culture and our country. Hosted by author and physician, Dr Robert Jackson.
Dr. Robert Jackson:Papa, can you tell me a story? Do you really want me to tell you a story? Well, you go, get your brother and your sisters and I will tell you a story. Well, you go, get your brother and your sisters and I will tell you a story. Welcome to Devotions with Dr Papa. I'm your host, dr Robert Jackson. I encourage you to gather around, grab your Bibles and let us look into the written word, which reveals to us the living word which is our Lord Jesus Christ.
Dr. Robert Jackson:Now, today, we're at Genesis, chapter 2 and verse 25. It's the last verse in chapter 2. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed. A simple statement. Now, what does it really mean? Naked and unashamed? Why is this statement even there? What about you? Can you be naked and fully exposed in the presence of other people without being mortified, embarrassed and ashamed? Truthfully, only small children have no shame when their nakedness is publicly exposed. We've all seen and laughed at a two-year-old that ran, completely exposed through a room full of adults with his embarrassed mother in hot pursuit.
Dr. Robert Jackson:Unashamed also implies a lack of guilt, which infers a lack of sin, and in fact that was true of Adam and Eve. There was no sin in their life at this point in time and therefore there was no need for shame. They were naked, fully exposed, in one another's presence. There was no sin, there was no guilt, there was no shame. Any sexual intimacy outside of marriage, any physical exposure or nakedness by a man and woman outside the sanctity of marriage brings with it guilt and shame. Now why is that? Number one because it's the ministry, the job of Holy Spirit, to ensure guilt when we do something that is morally wrong. The Bible says that the Spirit convicts of sin and righteousness and judgment. Spirit convicts of sin and righteousness and judgment. But number two any sort of physical or moral nakedness outside of the bonds of marriage violates the sanctity of the marriage contract, that sacred institution that God himself established in the garden. And when we violate the sanctity of marriage, it necessarily brings with it shame and guilt.
Dr. Robert Jackson:Now watch this. Why is it that a man and a woman who were guilty and ashamed yesterday to be undressed in one another's presence can be married today and can rejoice, without any sense of guilt or remorse, in one another's physical, natural state, naked and unashamed, today, after they've been married? You see something magical, something spiritual, something supernatural occurs after marriage. What exactly is it? Let me tell you, it's the blessing of God on that marital union that removes guilt and shame and replaces it with joy and unity, replaces it with joy and oneness of spirit as they become one flesh. Many of you have heard me talk about my son, Thomas. Thomas is the professor. He's 25 years old and he's our Down's Syndrome boy. When Thomas was growing up, he had a bad habit of coming out of the shower completely exposed, with his towel under one arm and his clean underwear under the other arm, and he would just walk through a room full of adults completely naked and unashamed. Now why would that be? Well, it's because Thomas has the intellect of a three-year-old and it didn't bother him one bit to walk through a room full of adults in his birthday suit. Now, it took some serious training before we could help him to understand that that was inappropriate. Understand that that was inappropriate to walk through a room in his birthday suit, naked as a jaybird, and hear the men laugh and the women gasp, and he was totally unconcerned. On Sunday morning my wife and I are getting ready for church and all of a sudden the bathroom door opens and Thomas stridesides in, naked as a jaybird, with his towel under one arm, his clean underwear under the other arm, and he lays down his clothes carefully. He lays down his flip phone and his little matchbox car and situates everything. And then he goes and he gives his mama a big hug, gives me a, a big hug, which is uncomfortable for me because I'm still not very comfortable with a fully grown, naked man giving me a hug. But Thomas is totally unfazed by the fact that his mom is in various states of dress or undress, and then he gets in the shower and takes his shower. You see, Thomas has the intellect of a three-year-old and he's naked and unashamed. But now, what's the difference between him and Adam and Eve? Were Adam and Eve unashamed, and why? Well, number one their union was blessed by God. God brought them together. And number two, unlike Thomas, who still does have sin in his life. There was no sin in the life of Adam and Eve at this point in time. Sin came later in their relationship. We don't know exactly how much later. Was it one day later? Was it one week later?
Dr. Robert Jackson:Did Adam have a day or a week to walk through the garden hand in hand with his beautiful new bride, pointing out to her the work that he had done in the garden, pointing out to her the animals that he had done in the garden, pointing out to her the animals that he had named and saying to her now, this one is a zebra and this one is a monkey, that one is a giraffe. And she looks at him and says how do you know that? He says, well, darling, I named them. And she says well, you're so smart. And he said I know no brag, just fact, God made me that way. And he said, by the way, you're exceptionally beautiful. There's no one else like you. And she says I know no brag, just fact, God made me that way.
Dr. Robert Jackson:Well, you see, how long did they get to be naked and unashamed in the garden? We don't know. But hear me clearly With sin comes shame and fear Fear of exposure, Fear of other people knowing about your and my sinful, shameful wrongdoing. That's why Adam and Eve immediately covered up, made a covering for themselves. The awareness of their sin made them afraid of God, made them feel naked and exposed, shameful, and they needed a covering. But here's the question Could plants, could leaves, cover their sin and their shame? Of course not, Absolutely not. Let me ask you another question Can your silence cover your sin and shame? Well, no, absolutely not.
Dr. Robert Jackson:Listen to Psalms 32. The psalmist had this to say about being silent about your sin. He says when I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long, For day and night. Your hand was heavy upon me, my vitality was drained away, as with the fever heat of summer. I acknowledged my sin to you and my iniquity I did not hide. I said I will confess my transgression to the Lord and you forgave the guilt of my sin. How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered, how blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity and in whose spirit there is no deceit. You've heard that biblical word, atonement. That word atonement means covered, covering. And you see, he says how blessed is the man whose sin is covered whose sin is atoned for.
Dr. Robert Jackson:And Adam and Eve immediately began to look for a covering to cover up their nakedness and their shame. Why were they ashamed? Because there was sin, there was guilt. And you see, when you and I have sin and shame in our lives, we look for a covering and we hide. We hide from God the same as they did, and we don't want other people to know about our sinfulness, our wretchedness, our shamefulness. They couldn't hide from God. You and I can't hide from God, not even if you take the wings of the dawn and fly to the remotest part of the earth or go to the deepest ocean or to the highest mountain, Behold, he is there. There's nowhere that you and I can go to flee from the presence of God.
Dr. Robert Jackson:So what can wash away our sin? The Bible tells us that God made garments of skin for Adam and Eve and clothed them, providing and covering their nakedness and shame. He provided them with a covering. Some animal had to give its life, had to shed its blood, and it was the first death of a creature in this perfect world. It had to give its blood in order to cover their shame. Theologians speculate that this animal, this creature, was probably a lamb. Now, why would they speculate that? Because this sacrificial animal that covered their sin and shame was a picture. It was a picture of Jesus, God's Passover lamb, who would eventually take away the sin of the entire world.
Dr. Robert Jackson:What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Remember that I told you, nothing is there by accident. It's all there by divine design. Having to kill that first animal to cover their sin and shame and it was probably a lamb to cover their nakedness and their shame was not an accident. That was the first step on the trail of blood that weaves its way through the entire Old Testament and always points to the cross of Jesus Christ. No accident, but a divine design. You're listening to Devotions with Dr Papa. If you like it, I hope that you will share it, follow, like, share, download. Let your friends know about it. We'll be back again next week. Until then, may the Lord bless you.
Speaker 1:Real good Thank you for listening to this edition of More Than Medicine. For more information about the Jackson Family Ministry, dr Jackson's books or to schedule a speaking engagement, go to their Facebook page, instagram or their webpage at jacksonfamilyministrycom. This podcast is produced by Bob Slone Audio Production at bobslone. com.
