Colossians 1:21 (ASV)

Passage

And you, being in time past alienated and enemies in your mind in your evil works,

Nearby Context

Colossians 1:19 For it was the good pleasure [of the Father] that in him should all the fulness dwell;

Colossians 1:20 and through him to reconcile all things unto himself, having made peace through the blood of his cross; through him, [I say], whether things upon the earth, or things in the heavens.

Colossians 1:21 And you, being in time past alienated and enemies in your mind in your evil works,

Colossians 1:22 yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and without blemish and unreproveable before him:

Colossians 1:23 if so be that ye continue in the faith, grounded and stedfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel which ye heard, which was preached in all creation under heaven; whereof I Paul was made a minister.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "time", "past", "alienated", "enemies", "mind", "evil", and "works". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "time" and "past", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 20's "and through him to reconcile all things..." into verse 22's "yet now hath he reconciled in the...", so "time" and "past" belong inside that flow. In Colossians context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "time" and "past" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.