“In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.”
In these you too once walked, when you lived in them — 'Once walked' (peripatēō pote) recalls their pre-conversion state. 'When you lived in them' (zaō en autois) shows enslavement: these vices were life-context. The past tense absolves the present: they are no longer captive. Yet memory serves warning.
Church Fathers on Colossians 3:7
I know that many are offended by the foregoing discourse, but what can I do? You heard what the Master enjoined. Am I to blame? What shall I do? Have you not seen the creditors, when debtors are obstinate, how they wear collars? Did you hear what Paul proclaimed today? “Mortify,” he says, “your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.” What is worse than such a covetousness? This is worse than any…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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