Clothed in Christ – by Greg Albrecht
Friend and Partner Letter for February 2025:
One hears much discussion at this time of year about clothing styles and designers as the “stars” come out for award shows which their industry hosts to honor itself – the Academy Awards being the most lavish and spectacular of them all. Much of the focus is on what the “beautiful” people are wearing.
Clothing of course hides our nakedness and protects us from the elements. But spiritually speaking, clothing can be an attempt to hide who we really are while vainly endeavoring to present ourselves as being something we are not. Genesis says clothing served such a purpose from the very beginning, as Adam and Eve hid from God and attempted to hide their nakedness from him by sewing fig leaves together.
The New Testament uses the symbol and metaphor of clothing to describe ways in which we relate to God. Whether clothing is a short-lived outfit consisting of fig leaves sewn together or a glamorous and expensive latest style, all human clothing has a “shelf life.” Some discard clothing that would otherwise be perfectly functional because it has “gone out of style.”
But the clothing we are given, by the grace of God, never wears out nor does it ever go out of style. In Galatians 3:26-27 Paul speaks of those who are spiritually transformed/converted as having “put on Christ.”
After Adam and Eve attempted, on the basis of their own efforts, to hide from God and from their own nakedness, God “made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them” (Genesis 3:21).
As a typological forerunner of how Christ-followers are clothed in Christ, as the nation of Israel was prepared to enter the Promised Land after 40 years in the wilderness, Moses reminded them God had miraculously given them food and drink in the barren wilderness – their clothing and sandals never wore out (Deuteronomy 29:5-6). God provided for them as they wandered in the wilderness, pointing toward the spiritual reality of his provision for us in Christ.
In Colossians 3:12 Paul speaks of Christ-like attributes (clothing) which become part of our wardrobe as he lives his risen life in us:
“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you have a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity” (my emphasis).
Discussing the resurrection of our bodies, in 1 Corinthians 15:51-53, Paul speaks of when we are eternally clothed in a Christlike transformation of our flesh:
“Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed – in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality” (my emphasis).
Meanwhile, as the old western movies used to say, “back at the ranch” – as we follow Christ in this life, Paul speaks in 2 Corinthians 5:1-4 of our pilgrimage in this oh-so-perishable body of flesh. Paul extends and expands this grand metaphor and word picture (and beyond that, the wonderful, incredible and mysterious reality) of the clothing of our earthly bodies as a tent contrasted with the eternal heavenly home with God, our eternal dwelling place.
In this passage Paul speaks of Christ-followers on this earth, in a journey toward our immortal, eternal, heavenly dwelling place in terms of what we are now “wearing” and the transformed, eternal, timeless immortal clothing we will wearing on the other side of eternity. We will then be clothed in Christ eternally!
“For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal home in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up my life” (my emphasis).
Christless religion convinces its followers that is provides them with clothing of morality and goodness, but the truth is those who fall for such deceptions are like the naked Emperor parading and posturing in “new clothes” which do nothing to provide what God alone can.
God is our provider. God alone can clothe us. All of our attempts to please and appease God on the basis of what we can do amount to nothing more than sewing here-today-and-gone- tomorrow fig leaves. Apart from being clothed in Christ, we are all nothing – “buck naked” (as is said in the Southern U.S.) marching around in make-believe outfits we are told will impress God.
One of my treasured possessions is a little patch I was given by a group of brothers and sisters in Christ who were, first and foremost, Christ-followers, and second to that, before Jesus, motorcycle riding former gang members who had lived life on the wild side. They had attempted to attend churches, but in every case they were shown the door when they did not show up in their “Sunday-going-best” as it were.
They decided to start their own church, and it was to that church in Arkansas I was invited and honored to speak several times. They wore the clothing they favored, as they realized an “outfit” did not make them any more righteous or acceptable to God. They had a variety of Christian phrases and slogans sewn to their vests.
One of the more popular ones was a response to those who had rejected them from attending their church because of their less-than-satisfactory clothing. My friends had a “patch” made with a simple message: “These are my church clothes!”
That patch proclaimed their understanding and thanksgiving that their clothing in Christ was far more important than a physical uniform or costume insisted upon by religion.
One of the big lies of Christ-less religion is that we can make, produce or buy spiritual clothing that is acceptable to God. However, by his grace, we Christ-followers realize “we can do nothing.” But, by virtue of being united in and with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ we are empowered to do all things.
In Galatians 2:20 Paul eloquently described being the new life he was given, the transformation he realized by the grace of God:
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
The new life in Christ we are given, being clothed in Christ, is directly attributed to our connection to and identity with Jesus Christ. In John 15:1-5 Jesus describes himself as the true vine and any spiritual fruit we bring forth as a proof of our being united in and with him:
“Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (my emphasis).
Chapter 19 of the book of Revelation provides our final, and perhaps ultimate, spectacular example of being clothed in Christ. The first ten verses of chapter 19 provide a dramatic contrast with chapters 17 and 18, which describe the whore of Babylon and her lovers.
Here is the wedding supper of the Lamb and his bride – the bride of Christ (you and me, of all things!) wears white clothing compared with the purple and red clothing of the great whore. The bride of Christ is given her garments – she does nothing to earn what she wears.
The whore of Babylon earns her purple and red clothing by her profession, which degrades, brutalizes and abuses her. The bride of Christ wears clothing that is purchased by the blood of the Lamb. She accepts the love of Christ, who loved her, died for her and loves her still.
It is an unbelievable picture of the love of God – Jesus, the Lamb of God, is of course the real “star” of the “show.” But in the humility that always is part of who he is, was and always will be, Jesus takes the spotlight and instead trains it on his flawed and failed bride, whom he loves with an everlasting love (you and me!).
The next time you get dressed for the day, and put on those mortal clothes from your closet or wardrobe, think of the brilliant, dazzling, exquisite, whiter than white, sparkling wedding gown the Lamb will give you as his bride!
We are, by God’s grace, clothed in him and by Jesus Christ.
Your brother in Christ,
Greg Albrecht
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