lives the “exceeding riches” of God’s grace (Eph. 2:7). They were the children of God (Rom. 8:21), called to reflect in the manner of their life together as Christ’s church the family likeness. The Christian life is a calling. The gospel of God’s grace in Christ not only changes our status before God but also transforms our state. We become new creations in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17), and the life of the new creation is shaped and styled by loving unity, the essential mark of the Holy Trinity.