Theology of Clothing

   By: Lauren Thomas 

I’m a girl who enjoys fashion. I’m a girl who loves theology. So, buckle up for a brief theology of clothing! Throughout the Bible there is rich symbolism tied to clothing. More than you might think.

 

Let’s start with the purpose of clothing. Literally, clothing is for covering and protection, with a major function being that clothing distinguishes us. Clothes cover our nakedness. Clothes protect us from the elements. Historically, and even today, clothing distinguishes class, values, culture, and position. The literal purposes of clothes run parallel to the symbolic purpose of clothing through Scripture.

 

The first clothes ever, were… quite shabby: fig leaves sewn together, in an attempt to cover the shame of sin. Remember, Adam and Eve had been unashamed in their nakedness, until sin. Then they made clothes.

 

And ever since, we have been trying to cover ourselves.

 

Isaiah tells us that our righteousness is comparable to filthy rags.

 

All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.

Isaiah 64:6 NIV

 

But God intervened. Genesis 3:21 shows us that God made “garments of skins” for Adam and Eve to clothe them. These garments foreshadowed the Old Testament sacrificial system, in which blood was necessary to atone for sin. See Leviticus 17:11 and Hebrews 9:22. God literally covered the nakedness of Adam and Eve, but he also hinted at the spiritual covering of sin that He was preparing for them through the work of Christ.

 

This covering was also prophesied of in Zechariah 3:1-5. In this passage, a priest in filthy garments stands before the angel of the Lord (Jesus) and “the Accuser” (Satan). Before Satan can bring his accusation against the defiled priest, Jesus silences him, commanding that the priest’s filthy garments be removed and replaced with “pure vestments.” This clothing protected the priest from the accusation of Satan. Similarly, the covering that Jesus provides through his sacrifice not only covers our sin, but protects us from the accusation of our Enemy.

 

While many other passages through Scripture contain the symbolism of clothing, let’s now look at Revelation 19:7-8. Here, the bride of Christ (us, the Church) is granted to wear pure, bright linen. The white that a bride traditionally wears on her wedding day is meant to be symbolic of purity. In Revelation, we see that, symbolically, we are clothed in such a way that distinguishes us as belonging to Christ.

 

So how do we put on this symbolic clothing? Simply by placing our faith in Jesus, whereby his righteousness is imputed to us. (See Romans 4:3-5; Galatians 3:27; Philippians 3:9.) In other words, when we place our faith in Jesus, God sees us as clothed with the righteousness of Christ, not the filthy rags we have been piecing together since Genesis to cover ourselves. When we put on Christ, our sins are covered, we are protected from the accusation of the enemy, and we are distinguished as belonging to Him.

 

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;
    my soul 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 like a priest with a beautiful headdress,
    and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

Isaiah 61:10 ESV

 

Reflection:

What does it mean in your life that you have worn “filthy rags” and “fig leaves”?

What other passages can you find that use spiritual symbolism related to clothing?

How can you “put on Christ” (see Romans 13:14 and Colossians 3:1-17)?