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1Jn_4:9. The manifestation of the love of God is the sending of His Son.
ἐν τούτῳ refers to the following ὅτι .
ἐφανερώθη ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐν ἡμῖν ] ἐφανερώθη expresses the objective fact, not the subjective knowledge; the apostle does not mean that the love of God is known by us through the sending of His Son (comp. 1Jn_4:16), but that it has by that means come forth from its concealment, has manifested itself in act. ἐν ἡμῖν is therefore neither “in” nor “among” us; neither must it be explained = εἰς ἡμᾶς ; ἐν is here, as in 1Jn_4:16 and Joh_9:3 = “to;” either connected with ἐφανερώθη or with ἡ ἀγάπη τ . Θ .; hence either: “it has been manifested to us” (Düsterdieck, Brückner, Braune, etc.), or: “the love of God to us” (Ewald) has been manifested. With the first interpretation the sentence: ὅτι … εἰς τὸν κόσμον , makes a difficulty which has been overlooked by the commentators;[263] with regard to the second, the article Ἡ is wanting before ἘΝ ἩΜῖΝ ; but a direct connection of an attributive clause with a substantive, without a connecting article, is very often found in the N. T., and is therefore not “ungrammatical” (as Düsterdieck thinks); the idea is here, then, the same as that which John in 1Jn_4:16 expresses by: Ἡ ἈΓΆΠΗ ἫΝ ἜΧΕΙ Ὁ ΘΕῸς ἘΝ ἩΜῖΝ .[264] The difference between ΕἸς ἩΜᾶς and ἘΝ ἩΜῖΝ is this, that the former indicates only the tendency towards the goal, the latter the abiding at the goal. By ἩΜῖΝ we are to understand not mankind in general, but believers in particular, so also 1Jn_4:10 in the case of ἩΜΕῖς Κ . Τ . Λ .
In the following sentence: ὍΤΙ ΤῸΝ ΥἹῸΝ ΑὐΤΟῦ … ἽΝΑ ΖΉΣΩΜΕΝ ΔΙʼ ΑὐΤΟῦ , the special emphasis rests on the last words, for the love which God has towards us is manifested in the fact that He sent His Son into the world for this purpose, that we might live through Him, i.e. become partakers through Him of the life of blessedness. It is especially in its purpose that the sending of His Son is the manifestation of God’s love to us. The more particular description of the Son of God as ὁ μονογενής , which is frequently found in the Gospel of John, appears only here in his Epistles. In Luke (Luk_7:12, Luk_8:42, Luk_9:38) and in the Epistle to the Hebrews (Heb_11:17), ΜΟΝΟΓΕΝΉς denotes the only child of his parents. So the expression is used by John also to denote Christ as the only Son of God, “besides whom His Father has none.” This predicate is suitable to Him, inasmuch as He is the λόγος who is ἘΝ ἈΡΧῇ , ΠΡῸς ΤῸΝ ΘΕΌΝ , ΘΕΌς . Lorinus arbitrarily explains ΜΟΝΟΓΕΝΉς = ἈΓΑΠΗΤΌς ; comp. Meyer on Joh_1:14. Calvin rightly remarks: “quod unigenitum appellat, ad auxesin valet.” How great the love of God, in that He sent His only-begotten Son in order that we might live! Baumgarten-Crusius: “ ΜΟΝΟΓΕΝΉς and ΖΉΣΟΜΕΝ are the principal words: the most glorious … for our salvation!”
[263] Even Ebrard has not perceived the difficulty. It lies in this, that by ὅτι κ . τ . λ . something is mentioned which happened for us, but not which happened to us; differently in Joh_9:3. Brückner thinks that the difficulty is removed by the fact that “in the purpose of the sending of Christ there also lies something which happened to us;” incorrectly, since even if the purpose of that is our life ( ἵνα ζήσωμεν ), yet it cannot be said that the love shown in the sending of Christ has manifested itself to us; the result is then that ἑφανερώθη is taken = “has operated,” and that an emphasis is laid on ἐν ἡμῖν which it does not receive from the context.
[264] Lücke incorrectly observes that with this connection there is in ἐν ἡμῖν “something superfluous and unsuitable.” This is so far from being the case, that it is just in this that the apostle arrives at the consideration of the relationship between God and the believer. True, the love of God relates to the whole world, Joh_3:16 : ἠγάπησεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸν κόσμον , and to all, without exception, He has given, by sending His Son, the possibility of not being lost, but obtaining eternal life, but the loving purpose of God is accomplished only in them that believe; the unbelieving remain ἐν ὀργῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ ; hence the love of God to the world is more narrowly limited than His love to believers, who are His τέκνα .