What is the meaning of Colossians 3:7? When you lived Paul is pointing back to a time before the readers knew Christ as Lord. It was real history, not metaphor. • Ephesians 2:1-2 reminds us, “You were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you once walked.” • Titus 3:3 echoes, “For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray.” The apostle wants believers to remember that their old life actually happened, so they will grasp the depth of their rescue. among them “Among them” traces the environment that shaped that old life—people still ruled by sin. • 1 Peter 4:3-4 speaks of past days spent “in debauchery, lust, drunkenness,” while unbelievers still “think it strange” that Christians no longer join in. • John 17:15-16 shows Jesus praying that His followers remain in the world yet distinct from it. Paul gently but firmly says our former crowd should not set today’s agenda. you also used to walk “To walk” is everyday conduct, choices, habits—how life looked on the street. • Galatians 5:19-21 lists the “works of the flesh” that once directed those steps. • Romans 6:17 thanks God that believers “were slaves to sin” but “became obedient from the heart.” The phrase affirms personal responsibility: we weren’t passive victims; we actively chose those roads. in these ways “These ways” refers to the specific sins just mentioned in Colossians 3:5—sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which “is idolatry.” • 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 warns that such practices bar people from God’s kingdom, yet adds, “That is what some of you were. But you were washed.” • Romans 13:12 urges, “So let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.” Paul’s point: those behaviors are incompatible with the new nature Christ gives. summary Colossians 3:7 shines a spotlight on the believer’s past to magnify God’s transforming grace. We really did live among the lost, freely choosing sinful patterns, until Christ broke in. Remembering that history fuels gratitude, safeguards humility, and strengthens resolve to walk today in the holiness we now possess in Him. |
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