30: What does it mean that God is love?

One of the Bible’s famous verses is 1John 4:8 which tells us that “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” In answer to the question, “Who is God?” or “What is God?”, I’ve heard Christians reply by simply saying “God is Love!” The theological truth behind the concept of God being love is that for all eternity, God has been actively giving of himself for the good of others. When I say “all of eternity” I mean that literally. For example, in John 17:24, Jesus was speaking to God the Father and he said: “you loved me before the foundation of the world.” Even before the universe began, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit all demonstrated love for each other.