1 Peter 3 — Sanctify the Lord in Your Hearts
Peter instructs wives and husbands, then calls all believers to be of one mind, compassionate, and humble, returning blessing for evil. Quoting the Psalms, he shows that God favours the righteous. It is better to suffer for doing good than evil. Believers are to sanctify Christ as Lord in their hearts and always be ready to give an answer for their hope, with meekness and fear. Christ suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, to bring us to God.
“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:”
— 1 Peter 3:15
- v.1-7 Wives and husbands
- v.8-17 Suffering for righteousness; ready to answer
- v.18-22 Christ suffered to bring us to God
Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts — set Christ apart as Lord within, enthrone Him in the heart. From that inner reverence flows fearless witness; the one who fears God need not fear man.
Be ready always to give an answer (Greek apologia, a reasoned defense). Believers should be able to explain the reason for their hope — but with meekness and fear (gentleness and respect). Defense of the faith is required, but never with arrogance or hostility.
The just for the unjust. The essence of the atonement — the righteous One suffering in the place of the unrighteous. Christ, who deserved nothing, bore what we deserved.
That he might bring us to God. The purpose of the cross is reconciliation — to bring estranged sinners back to God. Once suffered — His sacrifice was complete and unrepeatable, accomplishing what endless sacrifices could not. The gulf between God and man is bridged by the just dying for the unjust.
Verse 15 gives both the foundation and the manner of witness. First, sanctify Christ as Lord in your heart — settle inwardly that He reigns. From that settled reverence, be ready to explain your hope to anyone who asks — but with meekness and fear, never arrogance. Prepare to give reasons for what you believe; a hope you cannot explain is a hope poorly held. Yet hold out those reasons gently, with the humility of one who was also once unjust, brought to God by the Just One.
The chapter's center is verse 18 — Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God. This is the gospel in miniature: the righteous dying for the unrighteous to reconcile them to God. The believers' patient suffering for righteousness (the chapter's theme) follows the pattern of the Just One who suffered to bring them home. He is both their example in suffering and the Savior whose suffering accomplished what theirs never could.
The hidden man of the heart. True beauty is inward — the unfading character of the heart, not the outward adornment of hair, jewelry, or clothing (v.3). The inner self is what God sees and values.
A meek and quiet spirit... of great price. Meekness (strength under control) and a quiet (settled, peaceable) spirit are precious in God's sight. The culture prizes external display; God prizes the imperishable beauty of a gentle heart.