Coats of Skins

Genesis 3:7 "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."
Genesis 3:21 "Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them."

Immediately after Adam and Eve sinned and realized their broken relationship with God, they tried to fix the situation themselves by making their own coverings. Later, God taught the lesson that their own efforts to achieve a right standing before Him would not succeed; nothing we do can ever be good enough to pay the penalty for our sins. Instead, He showed them the need for a vicarious atoning sacrifice through the shedding of innocent blood by killing animals to make the coats of skins and by clothing them Himself. Indeed, without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins (Hebrews 9:22).

"For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." (Matthew 26:28)
"Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God." (Romans 3:24-25)

It is interesting that, although their eyes were opened to the fact that they were naked, and although they clothed themselves, they were still, in a different sense, naked with blinded eyes. This was a state similar to that of the church of the Laodiceans.

"Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see." (Revelation 3:17-18)

I think this is also the state of the majority of the Church today. We are trying to clothe ourselves with our own righteousness, and we think we're okay. But the truth is that "we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags." (Isaiah 64:6) We desperately need to follow the Lord's command in Revelation 3:19-20: "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." Remember that the Lord is speaking to believers in the context of this chapter. If we are trusting in our own righteousness, we must repent. In fact, we must repent if we are trusting in anything but Christ and Him crucified.

"For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and
him crucified." (1Corinthians 2:2)