By this hath the charity of God appeared towards us, because God hath sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we may live by him. In this is charity: not as though we had loved God, but because he hath first loved us, and sent his Son to be a propitiation for our sins.
1 John 4:7 Dearly beloved, let us love one another: for charity is of God. And every one that loveth is born of God and knoweth God.
1 John 4:8 He that loveth not knoweth not God: for God is charity.
1 John 4:9 By this hath the charity of God appeared towards us, because God hath sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we may live by him.
1 John 4:10 In this is charity: not as though we had loved God, but because he hath first loved us, and sent his Son to be a propitiation for our sins.
1 John 4:11 My dearest, if God hath so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
1 John 4:12 No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abideth in us: and his charity is perfected in us.
The verse centers on "world", "only begotten Son", "hath", "charity", "appeared", "towards", and "sent". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "world" and "only begotten Son", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 8's "He that loveth not knoweth not God..." into verse 11's "My dearest if God hath so loved...", so "world" and "only begotten Son" belong inside that flow. In 1 John context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.
A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "world" and "only begotten Son" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.