We Shall Not Be Found Naked 2 Cor. 5:1
1 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:
3 If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.
Gen. 2:21 21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
Ch. 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
7 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 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.
9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
Wait a minute: I thought they had sewed themselves aprons:
7 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.
But here in vs. 10 ...after they had made themselves aprons, Adam still says he hid himself, because he was naked.
-obviously, HE KNEW that the little covering that he had was not sufficient enough to appear before the Lord.
Take it a step further: Adam and Eve were once clothed.
REALLY? CLOTHED? But the Bible says that they
were naked....back to Gen. 2:25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
So what were they clothed with? Purity, innocence.
They had no idea what guilt was.
No idea what condemnation was.
No idea what being naked meant.
Not only clothed with purity and innocence, but clothed with the Shekinah Glory of God..
BUT when SIN entered their lives, they lost their clothing, the shekinah glory, the purity, the innocense, they went from being UNASHAMED to FULL OF SHAME
They went from being clothed with glory to
being naked with shame.
That is exactly what SIN does to your life:
It strips you of the glory of God.
That’s why Rom. 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
All have sinned and have not measured up to
God’s glory.
-are not fully clothed like we read about in Gen.
Before God cast them out of the garden, he CLOTHED them.
Gen. 3:21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
-clothed: fully clothed
They tried to cover their own unrighteousness, their own nakedness, but only the LORD could do that...
AND so it was that the first shedding of blood...
Would bring about the first clothing...
Just as the FIRST shedding of blood from the spotless lamb of God would bring about the clothing of salvation for the sinner that would make him a saint!
God, through His Son, Jesus, covers us with HIS Righteousness. (Because our own righteousness is as filthy rags).
Back to our text: 2Cor. 5:1
1 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
Earthly house of this tabernacle: our body...
Paul is talking about if we die... if this body of ours now one day is dissolved...
We have a building of God, an house not made with hands...eternal in the heavens.
One time Spain controlled both sides of the narrowest part of the Strait of Gibraltar. At that narrowing of the two land masses (Africa and Europe), there was a huge marker called the Pillar of Hercules, and prior to Columbus voyage in 1492, it carried a three word Latin saying chiseled into stone: NE PLUS ULTRA, which, translated, said, No More Beyond.
Coins of that country were even stamped with the slogan. No More Beyond. It was the standard belief of that time. No one would dare question the prevailing conviction that the western horizon contained nothing new.
After Columbus’s discovery of a new world beyond Spain, recognition of the revised outlook was pressed into its coins. Coins were struck with a simple Latin slogan, two words: PLUS ULTRA: which meant More Beyond. Coins in circulation in Florida in 1796, still had that slogan!
The following are some of the cults listed by John Ankerberg and John Weldon in Facts on Life after Death. Listed also is each group’s divisive opinion about both heaven and hell along with its founder’s quotations.
1. Christian Science, founded by spiritist Mary Baker Eddy, teaches that there is no death. They believe that heaven and hell are states of thought, not places. People experience their own heaven or hell right here on earth.
2. Edgar Cayce, a spiritist and New Age prophet, said that the destiny of the soul, as of all creation, is to become One with the Creator and that no soul is ever lost.
3. New Age cult leader Sun Myung Moon of The Unification Church believes that God will not desert any person eternally. By some means...they will be restored.
4. Mormonism, founded by occultist Joseph Smith, argues, The false doctrine that the punishment to be visited upon erring souls is endless...is but a dogma of unauthorized and erring sectarians, at once unscriptural, unreasonable, and revolting.
5. Jehovah’s Witnesses, founded by Charles Taze Russell maintains that the wicked are forever annihilated because the teaching about a fiery hell can rightly be designated as a ‘‘teaching of demons.
6. The Church of the New Jerusalem (Swedenborgianism), founded by spiritist Emanuel Swedenborgh, emphasizes that God does not condemn anyone to hell.
7. Eckankar, a New Age religion founded by Paul Twitchell and Darwin Gross, insists that there is no death ...and that there is no eternal hell.
8. Lucis Trust and the Arcane School/Full Moon Meditation Groups, established by New Age spiritist Alice Bailey, argue that the fear of death is based upon...old erroneous teaching as to heaven and hell.
9. The Love Family (The Children of God), founded by spiritist David Berg, views hell as a temporal purgatory: The lake of fire is where the wicked go to get purged from their sins...to let them eventually come...out.
10. Unitarian Universalism confesses the following: It seems safe to say that no Unitarian Universalist believes in a resurrection of the body, a literal heaven or hell, or any kind of eternal punishment.
11. The Theosophical Society, founded by medium Helena P. Blavatsky, declares, we positively refuse to accept the belief in eternal reward or eternal punishment. Hence, Death is not a cause for fear.
HOWEVER... we do know from Scripture that there is a life hereafter... there is an eternity to spend with God or without God....There is a heaven, and there is a hell. These places are absolutely literal.
In fact: Gallup Poll
In 1991 a Gallup poll showed that 78 percent of Americans expect to go to heaven when they die. However, many of them hardly ever pray, read the Bible, or attend church. They admit that they live to please themselves instead of God. I wonder why these people would want to go to heaven.
2 Cor. 5:2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:
3 If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.
Don’t you realize that there will be many “so called Christians” who will stand before God, who thought they had enough “glory clothing” on to make it?
Matt. 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
In order to Not be found naked before God when we get to heaven...
We’ve got to be clothed with His righteousness..
We’ve got to be following His commandments...
We’ve got to be walking in the Light as He is in the Light.
Revelation 7:9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
Clothed with White Robes:
White: leukos lyoo-kos’ bright, brilliant / (dazzling) white 1a1) of the garments of angels, and of those exalted to the splendour of the heavenly state
1a2) shining or white garments worn on festive or state occasions
1a3) of white garments as the sign of innocence and purity of the soul
Let’s read on: Rev. 7:10
10 And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.
11 And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,
12 Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.
13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What
are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?
14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
2 Cor. 5:1 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven.
3 If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.
WHY won’t we be found NOT NAKED???
Because, our robes of filthiness have been washed..
Our unrighteousness has been obliterated
The stains of SIN have been purged.....
OUR Robes have been washed and made WHITE in the blood of the Lamb!
Songwriter wrote:
There is a land that I’ve been told,
Where the streets are paved with gold
And the bright flowers bloom through all eternity,
Mansions are glistening on the bright shore
Beauty this world could never afford,
I’ve got a reservation, my name’s been written down.
There’s a banquet table that’s spread,
filled with milk and honey and bread,
Where we shall dine while the eternal ages roll;
Friends and loved ones will be there
robed in garments bright and fair
I’ve got a reservation, my name’s been written down...
Again our text: 2 Cor. 5:1 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:
Another songwriter wrote:
See the bright light shine, it’s just about home time,
I can see my father standing at the door;
This old world is in a wilderness,
And I’m ready for deliverance,
Lord, I’ve never been this homesick before.
3 If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.
Church: the clothing is available. It’s been made accessable by the blood of the lamb BUT it’s up to US to put it on!!!!
