Colossians 2:6 Meaning and Explanation
“As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:”
King James Version (KJV)
This study note uses an AI-assisted editorial workflow with source, duplication, and quality checks. See how verse explanations are prepared.
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →The way we first welcomed Jesus is the same way we keep going with Him, every step.
The Context of Colossians 2:6
Paul is warning the Colossian believers against teachers who wanted to add rules and special knowledge on top of Christ. He calls them back to the simple beginning of their faith and tells them the rest of the road is walked the same way it started.
What Does Colossians 2:6 Mean?
There was a moment when these believers received Christ. They did not earn Him or argue their way to Him. They welcomed Him as a gift, and they took Him as Lord. Paul says the whole Christian life keeps that same shape. The word for walk pictures a daily journey, one ordinary step after another. We go on the way we came in, by trusting and receiving, leaning on Christ instead of on our own performance.
This is a gentle relief. We do not graduate from the gospel into something more advanced. The Jesus we received at the start is the Jesus we keep on receiving, and He is enough for the long road. To walk in Him is to stay close, to let His life be the path under our feet. The beginning was grace, and so is every mile after it.
Colossians 2:6 in the Original Language
peripateo (περιπατέω), 'walk' -- to go about, to conduct one's daily life, step by ordinary step.
Where Colossians 2:6 Echoes in Scripture
Jesus had pressed the same closeness on His friends: 'Abide in me, and I in you ... for without me ye can do nothing' (John 15:4-5). The walking and the abiding are the same dependence.
How to Apply Colossians 2:6 Today
However far along we are, the way forward is the way we began: receiving Christ and leaning on Him. We do not outgrow that grace. We walk in it, one trusting step at a time.