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1 John 3:23 Updated American Standard Version (UASV)
²³And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.

And this is his commandment. His commandment, by way of eminence; the leading, principal thing which he enjoins on us; the commandment which lies at the foundation of all true obedience.

That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ. That is, believeth the gospel. “He who credits it to be true, and acts as if it were true.” This is the whole of faith. Man is a sinner. He should act on the belief of this truth and repent. There is a God. Man should believe it, and fear and love him, and seek his favor. The Lord Jesus died to save him. To have faith in him is to believe that this is true, and to act accordingly; that is, to trust him, to rely on him, to love him, to feel that we have no merit, and to cast our all upon him. There is a heaven and a hell. To believe this is to credit the account and act as if it were true – to seek the one and avoid the other. We are to die. To believe this is to act as if this were so; to be in readiness for it, and to expect it daily and hourly. In one word, faith is feeling and acting as if there were a God, a Savior, a heaven, a hell; as if we were sinners and must die; as if we deserved eternal death and were in danger of it; and, in view of all, casting our eternal interests on the mercy of God in Christ Jesus. To do this is to be a Christian: not to do it is to be an unbeliever.

And love one another, just as he has commanded us. This follows from the other, and hence they are mentioned together, constituting his commandment. See John 13:35.

By Albert Barnes and Edward D. Andrews