Understanding the Gracious Heart of God—and What It Means for You
Episode 20
What does it really mean that God is gracious? In this episode, we explore the character of God—specifically His gracious heart—and how that changes everything. We unpack the meaning of grace and graciousness, clarify how grace does not excuse sin (Romans 5 & 6), and show how God’s grace empowers us to live transformed, godly lives. You’ll discover why resting in God’s grace isn’t passive, but powerful—and how His gracious heart equips you for everyday challenges, with peace and purpose.
TRANSCRIPT:
Is God’s Grace Too Good to Be True? In this episode, we explore the stunning reality of God’s gracious character — what it really means, why it doesn’t excuse sin like some assume, and how it radically transforms the way we live every single day. If you’ve ever wondered how grace and truth work together, or how God’s kindness leads to lasting change, this episode is for you. We’re glad you’re here, New Creations. Let’s dive in!
Welcome to Episode 20 of the We Are Recreated podcast. If we’re just meeting, my name is John Matthew, and this is Kim. On this podcast, we’re answering two of life’s biggest questions: What is God really like? And as believers, what’s our new identity because of Jesus and the cross?
This is the sixth episode in a series where we’re digging into the character of God so that we can know and experience His heart and His grace in our daily lives. And we’d love to hear from you — what’s one way that you’ve experienced God’s grace in your own life? Leave us a comment or send us a message, even through our website. We’re building a community of grace-filled believers.
In this episode, we’re going to define what it means for God to be gracious. We’re going to address a common misconception regarding God’s graciousness. Make sure you stick around to the end because we’re going to talk about the practical ways that God’s gracious heart influences and empowers our daily living.
What Does It Mean That God Is Gracious?
So let’s start with this: What does it mean that God is gracious?
Well, in the context of knowing or describing God, the most basic sense of the word gracious simply means “full of grace” or “showing divine grace.” It conveys the idea of giving favor and approval and esteem as a gift — not based on merit or self-effort or performance or striving. It means that God extends His kindness and provision and protection to His people. He honors His people based on the character and disposition of His heart — not according to any great thing that we have done or any terrible thing that we’ve avoided.
God is gracious. He gives us gifts, and we have benefits being children of God that we didn’t earn or deserve. That’s God’s grace.
God shows us this kind of grace because that’s His nature — just like when we talked about faithfulness (and you can check out the link in the corner). We can go back to Exodus 34:6, where God reveals His name to Moses and to the people of God. He calls Himself “The Lord, the Lord, merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.”
This name reveals more than just what to call God — it’s a description of His character and His disposition toward His people. And He tells us plainly that He’s full of grace.
We get a deeper sense of this graciousness when we look at the original language used in this verse, which we love to do. That word gracious in Hebrew is khen, and it means grace or favor. It conveys the idea of a gift given out of delight.
Khen is what Esther receives when she seeks out the king of Persia on behalf of her people in Esther chapter 5. She was taking her life in her hands by approaching him uninvited, but he saw her and was delighted with her. He extended the scepter to her so that she could come and speak to him freely.
Khen is the word that describes what happened with Jacob and Esau. Maybe you remember this story: Jacob had been that lying, swindling, backstabbing brother who stole Esau’s birthright and then ran away and hid for years — until one day, they’re about to have this reunion in Genesis chapters 32 and 33. Jacob sends this note on ahead, and he says, “I’m coming to you, Esau, looking for your favor. I’m asking for your grace.”
And it could be that Esau didn’t know about the change that Jacob had experienced when he encountered God. So it might not have been unreasonable for Esau to be thinking about revenge on his little brother — or to still consider him a scoundrel and a cheat. Jacob had earned this bad reputation, and the natural response might have been that he should be rejected or despised. But he says, “Hey Esau, I’m looking for your favor. I’m looking for your khen.”
And Esau gets this note and is so excited about his brother coming. He takes great delight in his brother Jacob — opens his arms wide, loves him, welcomes him, restores him, and extends that beautiful grace to him.
Have you ever experienced undeserved kindness or grace from someone? Or maybe God’s grace met you in a moment that you didn’t expect but really needed? We’d love to hear your story — share it in the comments or tag us online @wearerecreated.
Throughout the Word, nobody shows more khen than God. It’s His name. It’s His nature and His character. It’s His delight to show grace and mercy and favor to His people. He is gracious. He’s full of grace that is extended freely out of His great delight in us.
Hebrews 12:2 says that for the joy that was set before Him, Jesus endured the cross and despised its shame. He suffered death in order to extend His grace to us — because He delights in us.
Again and again, God demonstrates His kindness and His grace — His khen — to His people because that is who He is. It’s His identity and person. And so, He abounds and overflows with grace.
