Colossians 1:21 (GNV)

Passage

And you which were in times past strangers and enemies, because your mindes were set in euill workes, hath he nowe also reconciled,

Nearby Context

Colossians 1:19 For it pleased the Father, that in him should all fulnesse dwell,

Colossians 1:20 And through peace made by that blood of that his crosse, to reconcile to himselfe through him, through him, I say, all thinges, both which are in earth, and which are in heauen.

Colossians 1:21 And you which were in times past strangers and enemies, because your mindes were set in euill workes, hath he nowe also reconciled,

Colossians 1:22 In that body of his flesh through death, to make you holy, and vnblameable and without fault in his sight,

Colossians 1:23 If ye continue, grounded and stablished in the faith, and be not moued away from the hope of the Gospel, whereof ye haue heard, and which hath bene preached to euery creature which is vnder heauen, whereof I Paul am a minister.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "times", "past", "strangers", "enemies", "mindes", "euill", "workes", and "hath". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "times" 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 peace made by that blood..." into verse 22's "In that body of his flesh through...", so "times" 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 "times" and "past" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.