God is love — the substrate

"He who doesn’t love doesn’t know God, for God is love." — 1 John 4:8 "We know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and he who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him." — 1 John 4:16

Love is not an attribute God has alongside others; love is the substance God is. Every other affection — joy, peace, longing, grief, hope — has its mass only insofar as it sits in this field. "love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit" (Romans 5:5). 1 Corinthians 13 names what this love does and does not do; without it, every other gift is sounding brass. The Father's love is what the Son makes addressable. The Father's love is what the Spirit makes indwelling.

See: 1 John 4:7–21; John 3:16; Romans 5:5–8; 1 Corinthians 13; Ephesians 3:17–19.