“We’re all just broken people…” I’ve been hearing this phrase parroted among believers lately. But my question is, is it true? Are born-again believers in Christ really “broken people”? Is that really the mark of a new creation? Is that really the stamp of a royal priesthood? Is that really what has been taught to us in the the epistles? I dare to say it is not.
When a person comes to the Lord Jesus, in repentance and faith, that person has a divine change come about. So radical is the change that the person is called a NEW CREATION in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17) – something that never existed before. The redemption is radical and intense and life-altering. No longer are we the same. We receive a brand new nature; a new identity. The old has gone; the new has come.
To the contrary, the Bible expressly defines the life of the believer as polar opposite to being “broken”. The very word “save” in the Greek is sózó, which is an all-encompassing word that includes being saved, rescued, delivered, protected, healed, made whole and set free. In many instances, Jesus used the words saved/healed/made whole interchangeably (i.e. Luke 17:11-19; Matt. 9:20-22; Mark 10:46-52 – the same word “well” in each of the three passages is the same greek word: sózó ). Think about that for a moment. Do we think that anyone who was healed physically by the Lord Jesus remained sick, lame, or feeble? My guess would be emphatically, NO. Do we then think that anyone whom He saves is not made brand new?
In keeping with that meaning, I find it most interesting that the Hebrew word for peace is Shalom and is known to mean “nothing missing, nothing broken”. Jesus brought to us His peace. His Shalom.
Shalom is one of the key words and images for salvation in the Bible. The Hebrew word refers most commonly to a person being uninjured and safe, whole and sound. In the New Testament, shalom is revealed as the reconciliation of all things to God through the work of Christ: “God was pleased . . . through [Christ] to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through [Christ’s] blood, shed on the cross” (Colossians 1:19–20). Shalom experienced is multidimensional, complete well-being — physical, psychological, social, and spiritual; it flows from all of one’s relationships being put right — with God, with(in) oneself, and with others. – The Meaning of Shalom in the Bible
Those who claim that believers are “all just broken people”, may need to refocus on what the Bible truly says about God’s people. Let’s just look at some things that are noted in Scripture as our identity in Christ (and these are just a few!):
We are washed, sanctified, and justified by the blood of Jesus (1 Cor. 6:11).
We are children of God (John 1:12).
We are saints (1 Cor. 1:2).
We are ambassadors for Christ (2 Cor. 5:20).
We are more than conquerors through Christ (Rom. 8:37).
We are made alive with Christ (Eph. 2:1).
We’ve been made new because our old self was crucified with Christ (Rom. 6:6).
We are reigning in life through Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:17).
We are triumphant in Christ (2 Cor. 2:14).
We are the salt of the earth (Matt. 5:13).
We are the light of the world (Matt. 5:14).
We are freed from the power of sin (Rom. 6:18).
We are now servants of righteousness (Rom. 6:18).
We are inseparable from the love of God (Rom. 8:35).
We are blessed with every spiritual blessing (Eph. 1:3).
We are accepted in the beloved (Eph. 1:6).
We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works (Eph. 2:10).
We are strengthened with might in our inner man by His Spirit (Eph. 3:16).
We are strong in the Lord and power of His might (Eph. 6:10).
We are able to walk as children of light (Eph. 5:8).
We are light in the Lord (Eph. 5:8).
We have peace with God through Jesus (Rom. 5:1).
We have been raised to walk in newness of life (Rom. 6:4).
We have been renewed in the spirit of our minds (Eph. 4:23).
We have put on the new man which was created according to God in righteousness and true holiness (Eph. 4:24).
We have been delivered from the domain of darkness, and transferred to the kingdom of His beloved Son (Col. 1:13-14).
We are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation (1 Pet. 2:9).
We have been made complete (Col. 2:10).
God’s purchased possession is not broken – we are whole in Christ Jesus! So please, before we begin to parrot catch phrases, let’s make sure that they are Biblical first.
Holly Sands lives in South Carolina at the foothills of the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains with her loving husband, Shane, and idiot cat, Mister Bojangles. She has been blessed to travel both nationally and internationally with her husband, sharing the glorious gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Holly is co-host of the weekly podcast, “That They May All Be One“. New episodes can be heard every Tuesday on your favorite podcast app.