Piper on Marriage

Naked and Not Ashamed  33
would  only  relate  to  the  pre-Fall  situation,  namely,  the  perfection  of
their bodies.
Third, verse 24 (holding fast in a one-flesh union) creates the rela-
tionship where verse 25 (naked and not ashamed) can happen. And the
emphasis  falls  there  on  the  covenant  commitment  in  verse  24: These
two are holding fast to each other in a new one-flesh union that is not an
experiment. It's a new kind of lasting union rooted in a covenant com -
mitment. That is what creates the context for a shame-free marriage—
not their perfect beauty.
Because of Covenant Love
Consider a second possibility for why they are naked and not ashamed.
My suggestion is that the emphasis falls not on their freedom from phys-
ical imperfection, but on the fullness of covenant love. In other words,
I can be free from shame for two conceivable reasons: One conceivable
(but unreal) reason is that I am perfect and have nothing to be ashamed
of. The other reason I could be free from shame is that even though I am
imperfect, I have no fear of being disapproved by my spouse.
The  first way to be shame-free is to be perfect; the second way to
be shame-free is based on the gracious nature of covenant love. In the
first case, there  is no  shame because we're  flawless.  In  the  second  case,
there  is  no  shame  because  covenant  love  covers  a  multitude  of  flaws 
(1 Peter 4:8; 1 Cor. 13:6).
I know that in Genesis 2:25 the fall into sin has not yet happened.
So there are no flaws to be covered. But my point is that verse 25 flows
out of verse 24 because the covenant relationship established by marriage
is  designed  from  the  beginning  to  be  the  main  foundation  of  freedom
from shame. Admittedly, until sin came into the world and all kinds of
physical  and  moral  flaws  came  with  it,  Adam  and  Eve  did  not  have  to
exercise their covenant love to cover any sins and flaws in each other. But
the eventual exercise of that covenant love was God's design.
Marriage was designed from the beginning to display the new cov-
enant between Christ and the church. We have seen this in Ephesians
5:31–32.  The  very  essence  of  this  new  covenant  is  that  Christ  passes
over the sins of his bride. His bride is free from shame  not because she