The Purpose of Clothing

On the sixth day of creation, God placed Adam and Eve in the garden to tend and keep it. In this sinless and unfallen state, they were naked. One very important point to realize in this is that they were not uncovered though. Man in his unfallen state was covered by the glory of God. When Eve and then Adam sinned, they lost that covering and were truly naked. It was at this point that God mercifully introduced clothing and even more importantly God introduced the sacrificial system. God sacrificed animals as a covering for man because of his sin.   Man was not meant to be uncovered. In his unfallen state, man thought right about the physical and had no sin. But with the introduction of sin, man lost the glory of God and needing to be covered, was given animal sacrifice as a temporary covering. Ultimately, the animal covering pointed to the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus, who covered our sins.

So how do we answer the initial question?  The purpose of clothing is coverage. The coverage that God provided was because of man's sinful state and tendencies. Though Jesus has accomplished his work of atonement, we still sin, we still need to be covered. The clothing that covers us points to and reminds us of our need for Jesus' work. I believe this is one reason for the constant drive in society for nakedness. Fallen man does not want God and rejects Jesus' work. As Christians, what do we want to communicate in this regard to those around us and to God?