Colossians 3:7 (LSB)

Passage

and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them.

Nearby Context

Colossians 3:5 Therefore, consider the members of your earthly body as dead to sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry.

Colossians 3:6 On account of these things, the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience,

Colossians 3:7 and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them.

Colossians 3:8 But now you also, lay them all aside: wrath, anger, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth.

Colossians 3:9 Do not lie to one another, since you put off the old man with its evil practices,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "once", "walked", and "living". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "once" and "walked", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 6's "On account of these things the wrath..." into verse 8's "But now you also lay them all...", so "once" and "walked" 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 "once" and "walked" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.