Did Adam know he was naked before he ate the forbidden fruit?
Before the fall, Ge 2:
25 The man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
They were aware of their physical state of nakedness but felt no shame in their consciences.
After eating the fruit, Ge 3:
7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked.
Now, they had a new type of awareness: the nakedness bothered their consciences. So,
they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths
to cover their nakedness. But this only covered their physical nakedness, not the shame they felt.
8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”
They hid because they felt shame. They felt shame because they had disobeyed God. Their consciences told them they were guilty. Hiding from God was how they dealt with their guilt. They didn't want God to see their attempt to cover their nakedness with fig leaves.
10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
Why was Adam afraid? Because he was naked? Because he was half-naked?
Yes, even with the fig leaves, he still felt naked or half-naked. He felt shame and he felt guilt in his conscience. The feeling of guilt was a new sensation to Adam. He didn't know how to handle it.
This was the critical moment for Adam to confess his disobedience. At this point, he should have said, "I'm sorry. I have disobeyed you and ate the forbidden fruit."
Adam missed this critical moment. Instead of dealing with the deeper issue of disobedience, he only pointed out the superficial problem of being naked or half-naked.
11“Who told you that you were naked?” asked the LORD God. “Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”
God pointed out the real issue to Adam. They were completely naked before, and it didn't bother them before.
Why did Adam think that he was still naked after sewing the fig leaves?
Because he was still half-naked and could not face the deeper issue of guilt of disobeying God and the shame of being half-naked. Guilt and shame were new feelings to him.
To partially solve this problem:
21 the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them
i.e. animal skins.
The complete solution is found in Christ, who frees us from a guilty conscience. Both required the shedding of blood.
There was no shame in being naked before Adam and Eve ate. After the fall, they felt shame, guilt, and fear. They tried to cover their naked bodies. They couldn't face God in their conditions. They had lost their innocence.
Why was Adam afraid because he was naked?
Actually Adam was afraid because he felt guilt in his conscience. The nakedness pointed to his disobedience. If he had obeyed, the nakedness wouldn't have bothered his conscience. The nakedness symbolized his guilt. He wanted to hide from God. He wasn't just hiding his nakedness; he was hiding his guilt.