Circle of Love

On another level, however, the phrase “God is love” refers to the inner life of God. God loves sinners in history because, prior to that, God loves the Son and the Spirit, and loves us in relation to them.

John is saying that the love God has for sinners flows from the love that circulates everlastingly within the Trinity. As Jesus says, “as the Father has loved me, so I have loved you” (Jn 15:9). God’s love for sinners is not just the love of a single, Unitarian Subject. John is making reference to a triune love that flows among the persons of the Godhead. Not only concretions of the divine field of deity, these person make up a relational Being, a community of love and mutual indwelling.— Flame of Love, page 30