Verses 6 and 7 of Colossians 2 routinely are regarded as the theme verses of the book of Colossians. And rightly so. They are. But the modern translations are ambiguous in English. The end of v. 6 is a command and says in many English translations: "walk in him." What does the in mean? And is it the best translation to get at what Paul is after?
Now I want to digress for a moment. I am not arguing here for a particular translation philosophy. I actually prefer ambiguity in English translations that reflect the ambiguity in Greek, and for Bible study I also prefer to use many different translations with different translation philosophies. So what I am saying is not a quibble with any translation's translation philosophy.
The in of v. 6 is a preposition that takes the dative: en autō, "in him." The preposition en with the dative has a wide range of possible meanings. And the correct possibility is always determined in large measure by the context. And I want to suggest that contextually the best meaning is either "in the presence of" or "with reference to." Both of these amount to roughly the same idea.
Paul has just said "as you received Christ Jesus the Lord." This is how the Colossians are to "walk in him." That is, in the same way! And how did they receive Jesus? By believing in him as the Lord! They recieved him as the Lord of all (cf. Col. 3:17; and 3:1 with allusion to Ps. 110). And so they are to continue to walk with referece to him as Lord, in the presence of the one who is Lord of all.
So here is my translation of Col. 2:6-7:
Therefore, as you recieved Messiah Jesus as the Lord [of all],
so walk with reference to him [as the Lord of all],
because you have been rooted in him
and
now you are being built up in him and established in the faith,
even as you were taught,
abounding with thanksgiving.
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