Christ Preeminence is Detailed to the Colossians Volume 10

Paul Declares these Colossian Believers Reconciled to God in Christ Part 1

Colossians 1:21 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled; KJV

After the last verses declaring the undisputed Deity of Jesus Christ, Paul now turns his attention back to these Colossian believers and to we believers today and of all time declaring, defining, and describing our reconciliation back to God through Christ sacrifice beginning with these words, “And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled” (Colossians 1:21) (KJV). Two of the important words used by Paul in this verse are ‘sometime’ and ‘alienated’: First the English word ‘sometime’ is translated by the Greek word pote which means in the old time or in times past; once. Second the English word ‘alienated’ is translated by the Greek word apallotrioo which means to be foreign to something or someone; to be hostile; to estrange away, that is, (passively and figuratively) to be non- participant: So, then we see here Paul declaring these Colossian Gentiles and every Gentile sinner to have been strangers to any knowledge of the True God known only by the Jews as YAHWEH (the One True God). Gentiles before Christ incarnation were left to worship false gods or deities that were no gods at all as Paul rebuked the Galatian believers for going back into unbelief with these words, “Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods. But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.” (Galatians 4:8-10) (KJV).

Two other important words used by Paul in this verse is the English word ‘enemies’ and the English phrase ‘in your minds’: First the English word ‘enemies’ is translated by the Greek word echthros which means (to hate); hateful (passively odious, or actively hostile); usually as a noun, an adversary or foe. Second the English phrase ‘in your minds’ is translated by one Greek word dianoia which means deep thought, properly the faculty (mind or its disposition), by implication its exercise: - imagination, mind, understanding. So, then we see that these Colossian Gentile sinners and every sinner of every era have a deep seated and deep rooted hostility, anger, hatred toward the One True God which has its roots in the imagination of the mind and understanding as Paul declared with these words to the believers in Rome when he wrote, “Now the mind of the flesh [which is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit] is death [death that comprises all the miseries arising from sin, both here and hereafter]. But the mind of the [Holy] Spirit is life and [soul] peace [both now and forever]. [That is] because the mind of the flesh [with its carnal thoughts and purposes] is hostile to God, for it does not submit itself to God’s Law; indeed it cannot. So then those who are living the life of the flesh [catering to the appetites and impulses of their carnal nature] cannot please {or} satisfy God, {or} be acceptable to Him.” (Romans 8:6-8) (Amplified Bible).

This hostile carnal mind then produces only and at all times works that will gratify the carnal nature or the nature of the flesh that every person is born with as a result of the first man Adam’s disobedience and this is what Paul means here by his adding the two words ‘wicked works’ near the end of this verse which simply mean works or actions that are hurtful, harmful, vicious, lewd, degenerate, diseased, derelict, and mischievous to the person committing the works or actions and to others who may be on the receiving end of such actions like murder, rape, or assault, as Paul warned the believers in Ephesus to avoid with these words, “So this I say and solemnly testify in [the name of] the Lord [as in His presence], that you must no longer live as the heathen (the Gentiles) do in their perverseness [in the folly, vanity, and emptiness of their souls and the futility] of their minds. Their moral understanding is darkened {and} their reasoning is beclouded. [They are] alienated (estranged, self-banished) from the life of God [with no share in it; this is] because of the ignorance (the want of knowledge and perception, the willful blindness) that is deep-seated in them, due to their hardness of heart [to the insensitiveness of their moral nature]. In their spiritual apathy they have become callous {and} past feeling {and} reckless and have abandoned themselves [a prey] to unbridled sensuality, eager {and} greedy to indulge in every form of impurity [that their depraved desires may suggest and demand]. But you did not so learn Christ! Assuming that you have really heard Him {and} been taught by Him, as [all] Truth is in Jesus [embodied and personified in Him], Strip yourselves of your former nature [put off and discard your old unrenewed self] which characterized your previous manner of life and becomes corrupt through lusts {and} desires that spring from delusion; And be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude], And put on the new nature (the regenerate self) created in God’s image, [Godlike] in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:17-24) (Amplified Bible). 

However, Praise God that Paul declares these Colossians whom he’s writing to be reconciled to God through Christ, therefore, having now a change of mind and a change in their/our minds solely because of what Christ has done for them/us and in them/us. Paul uses the English phrase ‘hath He reconciled’ which is translated by the Greek word apokatallasso we discovered in our last study/commentary which means to reconcile fully: and completely, as Paul described and declared to the believers in Rome with these words, “Likewise, my brethren, you have undergone death as to the Law through the [crucified] Body of Christ, so that now you may belong to Another, to Him Who was raised from the dead in order that we may bear fruit for God. When we were living in the flesh (mere physical lives), the sinful passions that were awakened {and} aroused up by [what] the Law [makes sin] were constantly operating in our natural powers (in our bodily organs, in the sensitive appetites and wills of the flesh), so that we bore fruit for death. But now we are discharged from the Law {and} have terminated all intercourse with it, having died to what once restrained {and} held us captive. So now we serve not under [obedience to] the old code of written regulations, but [under obedience to the promptings] of the Spirit in newness [of life].” (Romans 7:4-6) (Amplified Bible). Note: “Here in Romans 7:4-6, Paul when speaking of the ‘Law’ is not speaking about the Ten Commandments, but instead the Law of Moses or the Jewish Ceremonial Laws (Ephesians 2:12-22), which the Rabbis had ballooned up to over 600 laws that must be followed to the letter. Also from the moment a sinner believes, this enmity and hostility toward God that is inherent in every sinner is immediately broken down and replaced by love to God and love for God, no longer His enemy, but now His friend.”

“It is we who are reconciled. It is God who reconciles. It is we who are enemies. The Divine patience loves on through all our enmity, and though perfect love meeting human sin must become wrath, which is consistent with love, it never becomes hatred, which is love’s opposite.” Expositor’s Bible Commentary

“It has been for centuries and continues to be right up to this very moment the debate over whether we choose God in salvation by our faith to Him or whether He has chosen those for salvation (neglecting or damming others) before He ever made the earth and all the stars and other planets and galaxies in the many universes He created for Himself. No matter how a person wants to side in this debate is not for me to determine, but what I can say with a concrete and rock solid assurance is what Paul declares here in this one verse and that is that every man and woman is an enemy of God before Christ reconciles them by His Blood. No one can ever say that they love God and mean it until they know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.” Clifford D. Tate, Sr.

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.

Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…