Proposition # 29: According to 1 John 4:8, 16, “God is love.” Love, an eternal attribute of God, existed before the creation of the universe. Whom did God love before the creation of Adam, if there were not distinct persons within the Godhead?”

Trinity with Question MarkResponse: To limit God’s love to human understanding and experience is absurd. For us, love is, primarily, an emotion. For God, love is a foundational character attribute (1 John 4:8; 1 John 4:16) which underlies His mercy, generosity, justice, holiness, creativity and all His other qualities.

Christian love is more than an emotion; it is showing dignity and respect due fellow creatures made in God’s image. Have you ever met someone whose personality you found disagreeable? Yet you treated that person with Christian love.

Many assert that God is outside of time; that to Him there is no past, present or future. If that be the case then the creation has always existed, even if only in His mind. Years ago I asked my mom how long does it take after a baby is born for a mother to start loving her child. She said that the mother loves her baby before it is born. Likewise, God loves His creation, and loved it before it was created. Like humans, God wants His creation to love Him; but His love does not crave reciprocity as human love does. He is complete in Himself; and this is true regardless of whether He is one, or They are two, three or a hundred.

“God demonstrates His own love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

God loved His Son more than any parent has ever loved a child. Yet He allowed His Son to suffer and die so that we might have everlasting life. Trinitarians excuse the “Mystery of the Trinity” as being incomprehensible to our finite human minds.

Perhaps the true incomprehensible mystery is the inexhaustible Love that is our God.