Colossians 3:7 Meaning and Explanation
“In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.”
King James Version (KJV)
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Read Full Chapter →Paul speaks to people with a real past, rather than to an imagined group untouched by the disorders he has just listed. That honesty matters. A changed life can remember where it came from without returning there, and it can speak truthfully about sin without treating fellow strugglers with contempt.
Colossians 3:7 reminds believers that the sins Paul has named once marked their own manner of life. Their past explains the seriousness of sin and magnifies the call to live as people made new in Christ.
The Context of Colossians 3:7
After declaring that believers have died and risen with Christ, Paul calls them to seek the things above and to put earthly practices to death. Verses 5 and 6 name sexual sin, corrupt desire, and covetousness, then warn of God's wrath against disobedience. Verse 7 turns from the general warning to the Colossians' own former conduct. Verse 8 begins the next movement, calling them to lay aside sins of anger and speech. The chapter then describes the new man, the life of love within the one body, and faithfulness in household relationships and daily work.
What Does Colossians 3:7 Mean?
The phrase "In the which" points back to the practices named in verse 5. Paul says, "ye also walked," using the common biblical picture of walking for a settled course of life. "Some time" acknowledges a former season, and "when ye lived in them" shows that these sins had been woven into ordinary life. The verse does not minimize their gravity. It also does not identify the Colossians forever by them. Paul can address their former way plainly because the chapter has already located their life with Christ in God. Memory of former sin is meant to deepen humility, gratitude, and watchfulness.
Verse 7 stands between God's judgment on disobedience and the command to put off further evils. This placement keeps Paul from allowing moral instruction to become distant criticism. The congregation is called to leave sin because it is deadly and because God has acted toward them in Christ. Their shared past also explains why the new community requires patience, forgiveness, meekness, and love later in the chapter. Those who know their own need for mercy are better prepared to bear with others. Paul joins a decisive break from former conduct with an honest recognition that transformation happens in the lives of people who have actually been entangled in sin.
The verse belongs to the chapter's larger description of union with Christ. Believers are said to have died and risen with him, and the old man with his deeds has been put off. Paul does not present this as bare self-improvement. Christ's life gives the new direction, and his appearing gives the future hope. The past tense in verse 7 therefore carries hope: old patterns can lose their ruling place. That hope remains sober, since Paul immediately commands the church to put away further sins. Christ's people live by remembering both the deliverance already given and the holy life still being learned.
Bible Verses Related to Colossians 3:7
“Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.”
- Ephesians 2:3
“And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”
- 1 Corinthians 6:11
“Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”
- Romans 6:4
“For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries:”
- 1 Peter 4:3
Where Colossians 3:7 Echoes in Scripture
1 Peter 4:3 gives a strong canonical echo by speaking of a past season in which people followed the will of the Gentiles in the same kinds of sins. Peter's wording likewise treats such conduct as belonging to a former period rather than as the proper shape of the believer's present life. Together the passages show that repentance includes a change of path, while leaving room for grateful remembrance of God's mercy.
How to Apply Colossians 3:7 Today
This verse encourages honest self-knowledge. We can name former habits, loyalties, and desires without making them our present identity or using them as a reason to despair. In a congregation, family, or friendship, remembered mercy can restrain harsh judgment. It also invites practical vigilance. Where an old pattern still seeks room in our speech, private choices, spending, relationships, or imagination, we can bring it into the light and seek help. The chapter directs us toward replacing harmful ways with compassion, forgiveness, gratitude, and the word of Christ dwelling richly among us.
Reflection & Prayer
What former path helps us understand more deeply the mercy and patience of God? Where might that memory make us gentler toward another person while also making us more watchful in our own life? Suggested prayer: Lord Jesus, thank thee for calling us from old ways. Keep our hearts near thee, and form in us the compassion and holiness that belong to thy people.