the Week of Proper 23 / Ordinary 28
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Christian Standard Bible ®
Colossians 1:21
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At one time you were separated from God. You were his enemies in your minds, because the evil you did was against him.
And you, who once were estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds,
And you (which were in tymes past straungers and enymes because youre myndes were set in evyll workes) hath he now recocilied
You, being in past times alienated and enemies in your mind in your evil works,
And although you were previously alienated and hostile in attitude, engaged in evil deeds,
At one time you were separated from God. You were his enemies in your minds, and the evil things you did were against God.
And you, being in time past alienated and enemies in your mind in your evil works,
And you, that were formerly alienated and enemies in [your] mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled,
And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds,
You, being in past times alienated and enemies in your mind in your evil works,
And you that were once alienated, and enemies in your mind by wicked works,
And you, estranged as you once were and even hostile in your minds, amidst your evil deeds,
And whanne ye weren sumtyme aliened, and enemyes bi wit in yuele werkis,
And you, being in time past alienated and enemies in your mind in your evil works, yet now hath he reconciled
Once you were alienated from God and were hostile in your minds because of your evil deeds.
You used to be far from God. Your thoughts made you his enemies, and you did evil things.
And although you were at one time estranged and alienated and hostile-minded [toward Him], participating in evil things,
And you, being in time past alienated and enemies in your mind in your evil works,
And you, who in the past were cut off and at war with God in your minds through evil works, he has now made one
In other words, you, who at one time were separated from God and had a hostile attitude towards him because of your wicked deeds,
And you, who once were alienated and enemies in mind by wicked works, yet now has it reconciled
You who were once alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds,in evil deeds">[fn]Ephesians 2:1-2,12, 19; 4:18; Titus 1:15-16;">[xr]
YOU also, who before were aliens and adversaries in your minds by your evil works,
And also to you, who were before alienated and enemies in your minds, because of your evil deeds,
And you that were sometimes alienated, and enemies in your minde by wicked workes, yet now hath hee reconciled,
This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions.
At one time you were strangers to God and your minds were at war with Him. Your thoughts and actions were wrong.
And you who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds,
And you which were in times past strangers and enemies, because your mindes were set in euill workes, hath he nowe also reconciled,
Even to you, who in times past were alienated and hostile in your minds because of your evil works, has been given peace,
And, you, who at one time were estranged and enemies in your mind in your wicked works, yet, now, hath he fully reconciled,
And you, whereas you were some time alienated and enemies in mind in evil works:
And you which were sometyme straungers, and enemies, by cogitation in euyll workes, hath he nowe yet reconciled,
At one time you were far away from God and were his enemies because of the evil things you did and thought.
And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled
And although you were formerly alienated and enemies in attitude, because of your evil deeds,
And you then being alienated and hostile in your mind by evil works, but now He reconciled
And you -- once being alienated, and enemies in the mind, in the evil works, yet now did he reconcile,
And you (which were in tymes past straungers and enemies, because youre myndes were set in euell workes) hath he now reconcyled
You then that formerly were alienated from God, and were enemies by your imaginations and wicked practices, even you has Jesus Christ now reconciled to the body of his church,
You yourselves are a case study of what he does. At one time you all had your backs turned to God, thinking rebellious thoughts of him, giving him trouble every chance you got. But now, by giving himself completely at the Cross, actually dying for you, Christ brought you over to God's side and put your lives together, whole and holy in his presence. You don't walk away from a gift like that! You stay grounded and steady in that bond of trust, constantly tuned in to the Message, careful not to be distracted or diverted. There is no other Message—just this one. Every creature under heaven gets this same Message. I, Paul, am a messenger of this Message.
And you were at one time strangers and enemies in your minds as expressed through your evil deeds,
And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled
There was a time we were all enemies of God through the evil things we did.
And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds,
And although you were formerly alienated and enemies in mind and in evil deeds,
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
sometime: Romans 1:30, Romans 5:9, Romans 5:10, Romans 8:7, Romans 8:8, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, Ephesians 2:1, Ephesians 2:2, Ephesians 2:12, Ephesians 2:19, Ephesians 4:18, Titus 3:3-7, James 4:4
in your mind by: or, by your mind in, Titus 1:15, Titus 1:16
Reciprocal: Leviticus 8:15 - to make 2 Chronicles 29:24 - reconciliation Isaiah 9:6 - The Prince of Peace Isaiah 27:5 - and he Ezekiel 14:5 - estranged Ezekiel 43:27 - I will accept Ezekiel 45:15 - to make Micah 5:5 - this Zechariah 3:9 - remove Zechariah 9:10 - he shall Romans 1:6 - are ye also Romans 11:15 - the reconciling Romans 12:2 - be ye 2 Corinthians 5:18 - who Ephesians 1:13 - ye also Ephesians 2:11 - Gentiles Ephesians 2:13 - are Ephesians 2:16 - reconcile Philippians 1:5 - General Colossians 1:20 - having made peace Hebrews 2:17 - to make James 1:18 - his own 1 Peter 3:18 - being
Cross-References
to rule the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good.
Then God said, “Let the earth produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that crawl, and the wildlife of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so.
So God made the wildlife of the earth according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that crawl on the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, the whole earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.”
God saw all that he had made, and it was very good indeed. Evening came and then morning: the sixth day.
Two of everything—from the birds according to their kinds, from the livestock according to their kinds, and from the animals that crawl on the ground according to their kinds—will come to you so that you can keep them alive.
They entered it with all the wildlife according to their kinds, all livestock according to their kinds, all the creatures that crawl on the earth according to their kinds, every flying creature—all the birds and every winged creature—according to their kinds.
Bring out all the living creatures that are with you—birds, livestock, those that crawl on the earth—and they will spread over the earth and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.”
All the animals, all the creatures that crawl, and all the flying creatures—everything that moves on the earth—came out of the ark by their families.
But you, be fruitful and multiply; spread out over the earth and multiply on it.”
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And you that were sometime alienated,.... The general blessing of grace and reconciliation, which belongs to the whole body of Christ, the church universal, all the elect of God, whether in heaven or in earth, is here particularly applied to the saints at Colosse, who were eminent instances of it; and that the free grace of God towards them in it might more illustriously appear, the apostle takes notice of what they were before the coming of Christ in the flesh, before the Gospel came among them, and while in a state of unregeneracy, as that they were "alienated": that is from God, not from his general presence, power, and providence, which reach to all his creatures, but from the life of God; see Ephesians 4:18; from living agreeably to the will of God, being estranged from him who is the fountain of moral and spiritual, as well as natural life; from the law, the rule of life, and from a principle of life in themselves; and altogether disapproving of such a life, as contrary to their carnal affections and lusts: and which alienation from God greatly lay in their forsaking him, the one only and true God, and following and serving strange gods, not attending to the dictates and light of nature; and being destitute of a divine revelation, they went further and further off from God, and from his people, worship, and ordinances; and were aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise; the source of all which was sin, and was owing to themselves: God did not alienate himself from them first; they alienated themselves from him; their sins separated between God and them, set them at a distance from him, and at enmity to him, and which very early appeared, for they were estranged from the womb:
and enemies in [your] mind by wicked works. They were enemies to God, the true God, and were lovers and worshippers of idols; they were enemies to the being and perfections of God, as all men in a state of nature are; and more or less show it, by either denying there is a God, or wishing there was none, or fancying him to be such an one as themselves; or they dispute his sovereignty, deny his omniscience, arraign his justice and faithfulness, and despise the riches of his grace and goodness; they are enemies to his purposes, providences, and word; cannot bear that he should determine any thing concerning them or others; their eye is evil to him because he is good to others; they reply against him, they run upon him, and charge his decrees with unrighteousness and cruelty; murmur at and quarrel with the dispensations of his providence, as unequal and unjust; cast away the law of the Lord, will not be subject to it, and condemn the revelation of his will. They are enemies to Christ in one shape or another; either to his person, denying his proper deity, or real humanity; or to his offices, not hearkening to him as a prophet, trampling on his blood and sacrifice as a priest, and unwilling to have him to rule over them as a King; or to the way of salvation by him, of pardon by his blood, atonement by his sacrifice, justification by his righteousness, and acceptance with God through his person; or to his doctrines and ordinances, which are unsuitable to their vicious tastes, carnal affections, and appetites: they are enemies to the Spirit of Christ, by either denying his deity and personality, or by ridiculing the operations of his grace; or treating with contempt, and as foolish, everything of his, the Bible and all the truths contained in it, dictated by him. They are enemies to the people of God, exceeding mad against them, hate them and persecute them, reckon them the faith of the world, and the offscouring of all things, living in malice to them, and hateful and hating one another: and this enmity to everything divine and good is seated "in the mind"; the mind is not the object of this enmity, as some read the words, "to the mind": for the mind of a carnal man is enmity itself against God; but it is the subject of it, where it has its chief place, and from whence it proceeds, and shows itself in evil actions; and though the word "your" is not in the original text, it is rightly supplied; for the meaning is not that they were enemies "of his mind"; of the mind of the Lord, of his counsels and will, as some read and explain the words, though there is a truth in this, but in their own minds: so that not the body but the soul is the seat of this enmity; and not the inferior faculties of the soul only, the sensitive appetite and passions, but the understanding, the judgment and will, the more noble and rational powers of the soul; from hence spring all the malice and enmity expressed in word and actions: where then is man's free will to that which is good? and hence it is that the mind stands in need of being renewed, enlightened, cleansed and sanctified, and renovation begins here, which is the effect of almighty power; for nothing else can remove the rooted enmity in the heart of men; and which, as deep and as secret as it is, sooner or later, in one way or another, shows itself "by wicked works"; and that frequently, as by loving what God hates, and hating what he loves; by omitting what he commands, and committing what he forbids; by maintaining friendship with the world, and by harbouring his professed enemies, and persecuting his dear friends; and by their wicked words, and evil lives and conversations; and by the various works of the flesh, which are manifest, some being more directly against God, others by which they wrong themselves, and others by which they injure their neighbours:
yet now hath he reconciled; which may be understood either of the Father's reconciling them to himself by his Son; and so the words are a continuation of the account of the Father's grace, as to all the elect in general, so to the Colossians in particular, notwithstanding the black characters in which they stand described in their natural estate: or else of Christ's reconciling them to his Father, by the sacrifice of himself, which he voluntarily offered for them, though this was their case, and of enemies made them friends: and may be meant either of the impetration of reconciliation for them by his sufferings and death; or of the virtue and efficacy of it in the application of it; in the former sense the "now" refers to the coming of Christ into the world, and the time of his death, and the offering up of his body once for all, when peace and reconciliation were completely made at once for all God's elect; in the latter sense it refers to the time of the conversion of these Colossians, when Christ by his Spirit, in consequence of reconciliation made in the body of his flesh, through death reconciled them to God; to his mind and will, to the way of salvation by himself, to the saints the excellent in the earth, to the Gospel and the ordinances of it, and to all his ways and worship.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
And you, that were sometime alienated - In this work of reconciling heaven and earth, you at Colossae, who were once enemies of God, have been reached. The benefit of that great plan has been extended to you, and it has accomplished in you what it is designed to effect everywhere - to reconcile enemies to God. The word âsometimeâ here - ÏοÏε pote - means âformerly.â In common with all other men they were, by nature, in a state of enmity against God; compare the notes at Ephesians 2:1-3.
In your mind - It was not merely by wicked works, or by an evil life; it was alienation seated in the mind, and leading to wicked works. It was deliberate and purposed enmity. It was not the result of passion and excitement; it had a deeper seat, and took hold of the intellectual powers The understanding was perverse and alienated from God, and all the powers of the soul were enlisted against him. It is this fact which renders reconciliation with God so difficult. Sin has corrupted and perverted alike the moral and the intellectual powers, and thus the whole man is arrayed against his Creator; compare the notes at Ephesians 4:18.
By wicked works - The alienation of the mind showed itself by wicked works, and those works were the public evidence of the alienation; compare Ephesians 2:1-2.
Yet now hath he reconciled - Harmony has been secured between you and God, and you are brought to friendship and love. Such a change has been produced in you as to bring your minds into friendship with that of God. All the change in producing this is on the part of man, for God cannot change, and there is no reason why he should, if he could. In the work of reconciliation man lays aside his hostility to his Maker, and thus becomes his friend; see the notes at 2 Corinthians 5:18.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse 21. And you, that were sometime alienated — All men are alienated from God, and all are enemies in their minds to him, and show it by their wicked works; but this is spoken particularly of the Gentiles. The word αÏαλλοÏÏιοÏ, which we render to alienate, to give to another, to estrange, expresses the state of the Gentiles: while the Jews were, at least by profession, dedicated to God, the Gentiles were alienated, that is, given up to others; they worshipped not the true God, but had gods many and lords many, to whom they dedicated themselves, their religious service, and their property. The verb αλλοÏÏιοÏ, to alienate, being compounded here with the preposition αÏο, from, signifies to abalienate, to estrange utterly, to be wholly the property of another. Thus the Gentiles had alienated themselves from God, and were alienated or rejected by him, because of their wickedness and idolatry.
Enemies in your mind — They had the carnal mind, which is enmity against God; and this was expressed in their outward conduct by wicked works. Romans 5:10; Romans 5:10. The mind is taken here for all the soul, heart, affections, passions, &c.
