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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadCambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges - 1 Peter 3:15 - 3:15
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15. ἁγιάσατε. The verb is occasionally applied to God in the LXX. e.g. of Moses and Aaron failing to sanctify Him in the eyes of the people. (Deu 32:51.) In Isaiah it was perhaps selected because Jehovah is described as the sanctuary “or place of asylum to be consecrated as an object of fear.” So here Christians are to treat the indwelling presence of Christ, as Lord and Master in their hearts, as a kind of sacred shrine which must never be surrendered or profaned by cowardly fears or inconsistent conduct.
τὸν Χριστὸν. The T.R., with KLP etc., reads Κύριον τὸν Θεόν which would mean “God as Lord” Κύριον being the predicate, not as A.V. “the Lord God.” In Isaiah the words are merely “Sanctify Jehovah.” The constant transference to Christ of language referring to Jehovah in the O.T. is one indication of the full Divinity ascribed to Christ by N.T. writers.
ἕτοιμοι ἀεὶ πρὸς ἀπολογίαν. The question whether this implies formal trial and organized persecution, as Ramsay suggests, is fully discussed Intr. p. xlii. The addition of ἀεὶ and παντὶ make it more probable that St Peter means that Christians are always to be prepared to shew their colours and give a reason for their hope whenever any one challenges them, cf. Col 4:6.
μετὰ πραΰτητος καὶ φόβου. Meekness not arrogance or self-assertion must be their attitude towards these questioners. φόβου might mean respect and deference towards those in authority, but more probably it means fear of God as in 1Pe 1:17, 1Pe 2:18. To deliver God’s message and champion God’s cause is a grave responsibility which should make them ask “who is sufficient for these things?”