The Meaning of 1 Peter 3:15 Explained

1 Peter 3:15

KJV: 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:

YLT: and the Lord God sanctify in your hearts. And be ready always for defence to every one who is asking of you an account concerning the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;

Darby: but sanctify the Lord the Christ in your hearts, and be always prepared to give an answer to every one that asks you to give an account of the hope that is in you, but with meekness and fear;

ASV: but sanctify in your hearts Christ as Lord: being ready always to give answer to every man that asketh you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, yet with meekness and fear:

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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: 

What does 1 Peter 3:15 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Rather than being fearful we should commit ourselves afresh to Christ our Lord (Yahweh of armies, Isaiah 8:13) by purposing to continue to live for Him. We should also have the reason we are living as we do on the tip of our tongues so whenever an opportunity arises we can explain why we behave as we do (cf. Acts 22:1; Acts 25:16). Our inquisitive questioner may not ask about our hope per se. Nevertheless our hope is the root cause of our behavior and should be the subject of our answer. We should give this answer with a gentle spirit to those asking and in a reverent spirit toward God.

Context Summary

1 Peter 3:13-22 - Following Christ In Bearing Injustice
It was said of Archbishop Cranmer that the way to make him a life-long friend was to do him some disservice, and surely these words of the Apostle have created many characters of the same type. The one aim and purpose of life should be to sanctify Christ as Lord; that is, to put Him on the throne. Let all the powers of our nature stand around to do His bidding, as the courtiers of a royal sovereign.
Keep a good conscience! Remember you have to live with yourself! A good conscience is the best bedfellow! Paul exercised himself always to have a conscience void of offense toward God and man, Acts 23:1; Acts 24:16. This is especially necessary when we are called on to give our witness for our Lord. We must not keep silent when we ought to speak, and when we speak we should do so reverently, simply and without heat.
Our Lord seems to have carried the news of redemption through the world of disembodied spirits. The Apostle compares baptism to the deluge, because it lies between the believer and his old worldly life, as Noah's flood lay between the old world and the new which emerged from its waters. [source]

Chapter Summary: 1 Peter 3

1  He teaches the duty of wives and husbands to each other;
8  exhorting all men to unity and love;
14  and to suffer persecution
19  He declares also the benefits of Christ toward the old world

Greek Commentary for 1 Peter 3:15

Sanctify [αγιασατε]
First aorist active imperative of αγιαζω — hagiazō This instead of being afraid. [source]
Christ as Lord [κυριον τον Χριστον]
Τον Χριστον — Ton Christon direct object with article and κυριον — kurion predicate accusative (without article). This is the correct text, not τον τεον — ton theon of the Textus Receptus. An adaptation to Christ of Isaiah 8:13.Being ready always (ετοιμοι αει — hetoimoi aei). No participle in the Greek, old adjective (Titus 3:1).To give answer “For an apology,” the old sense of απολογια — apologia an answer back, a defence (not excuse), as in Acts 22:1, from απολογεομαι — apologeomai to defend (not to apologize).A reason concerning the hope that is in you (λογον περι της εν υμιν ελπιδος — logon peri tēs en humin elpidos). Original sense of λογον — logon (accusative of the thing with αιτουντι — aitounti with υμας — humās accusative of the person) “concerning the in you hope.” Ready with a spoken defence of the inward hope. This attitude calls for an intelligent grasp of the hope and skill in presenting it. In Athens every citizen was expected to be able to join in the discussion of state affairs.Yet with meekness and fear Of God (1 Peter 2:18; 1 Peter 3:2, 1 Peter 3:4), not of man. [source]
Being ready always [ετοιμοι αει]
No participle in the Greek, old adjective (Titus 3:1). [source]
To give answer [προς απολογιαν]
“For an apology,” the old sense of απολογια — apologia an answer back, a defence (not excuse), as in Acts 22:1, from απολογεομαι — apologeomai to defend (not to apologize).A reason concerning the hope that is in you (λογον περι της εν υμιν ελπιδος — logon peri tēs en humin elpidos). Original sense of λογον — logon (accusative of the thing with αιτουντι — aitounti with υμας — humās accusative of the person) “concerning the in you hope.” Ready with a spoken defence of the inward hope. This attitude calls for an intelligent grasp of the hope and skill in presenting it. In Athens every citizen was expected to be able to join in the discussion of state affairs.Yet with meekness and fear Of God (1 Peter 2:18; 1 Peter 3:2, 1 Peter 3:4), not of man. [source]
A reason concerning the hope that is in you [λογον περι της εν υμιν ελπιδος]
Original sense of λογον — logon (accusative of the thing with αιτουντι — aitounti with υμας — humās accusative of the person) “concerning the in you hope.” Ready with a spoken defence of the inward hope. This attitude calls for an intelligent grasp of the hope and skill in presenting it. In Athens every citizen was expected to be able to join in the discussion of state affairs. [source]
Yet with meekness and fear [αλλα μετα πραυτητος και ποβου]
Of God (1 Peter 2:18; 1 Peter 3:2, 1 Peter 3:4), not of man. [source]
Sanctify the Lord God []
The A. V. follows the Tex. Rec., reading τὸν Θεὸν , God, instead of τὸν Χριστὸν , Christ, which is the reading of the best texts. The article with Christ shows that κύριον , Lord, is to be taken predicatively. Render, therefore, as Rev., sanctify Christ (the Christ) as Lord. [source]
Ready to give an answer [ἕτοιμοι πρὸς ἀπολογίαν]
Lit., ready for an answer. Answer is our word apology, not in the popular sense of excuse, but in the more radical sense of defence. So it is translated Acts 22:1; Philemon 1:7, Philemon 1:16. Clearing of yourselves, 2 Corinthians 7:11. [source]
Meekness []
See on Matthew 5:5. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for 1 Peter 3:15

Luke 12:11 Answer [ἀπολογήσησθε]
See on 1 Peter 3:15. [source]
Acts 26:2 Answer [ἀπολογεῖσθαι]
See on 1 Peter 3:15. [source]
Acts 22:1 Defence [ἀπολογίας]
See on answer, 1 Peter 3:15. [source]
Acts 22:1 The defence which I now make unto you [μου της προς υμας νυνι απολογιας]
Literally, My defence to you at this time. Νυνι — Nuni is a sharpened form (by ι — ̇i) of νυν — nun (now), just now. The term απολογια — apologia (apology) is not our use of the word for apologizing for an offence, but the original sense of defence for his conduct, his life. It is an old word from απολογεομαι — apologeomai to talk oneself off a charge, to make defence. It occurs also in Acts 25:16 and then also in 1 Corinthians 9:3; 2 Corinthians 7:11; Philemon 1:7, Philemon 1:16; 2 Timothy 4:16; 1 Peter 3:15. Paul uses it again in Acts 25:16 as here about his defence against the charges made by the Jews from Asia. He is suspected of being a renegade from the Mosaic law and charged with specific acts connected with the alleged profanation of the temple. So Paul speaks in Aramaic and recites the actual facts connected with his change from Judaism to Christianity. The facts make the strongest argument. He first recounts the well-known story of his zeal for Judaism in the persecution of the Christians and shows why the change came. Then he gives a summary of his work among the Gentiles and why he came to Jerusalem this time. He answers the charge of enmity to the people and the law and of desecration of the temple. It is a speech of great skill and force, delivered under remarkable conditions. The one in chapter Acts 26 covers some of the same ground, but for a slightly different purpose as we shall see. For a discussion of the three reports in Acts of Paul‘s conversion see chapter Acts 9. Luke has not been careful to make every detail correspond, though there is essential agreement in all three. [source]
Romans 1:20 Without excuse [ἀναπολογήτους]
See on answer, 1 Peter 3:15. Only here and Romans 2:1. [source]
1 Corinthians 9:3 Answer [ἀπολογία]
See on 1 Peter 3:15. [source]
1 Corinthians 1:22 Require [αἰτοῦσιν]
Rev., ask. But it is questionable whether the A.V. is not preferable. The word sometimes takes the sense of demand, as Luke 12:48; 1 Peter 3:15; and this sense accords well with the haughty attitude of the Jews, demanding of all apostolic religions their proofs and credentials. See Matthew 12:38; Matthew 16:1; John 6:30. [source]
2 Corinthians 7:11 Clearing of yourselves [ἀπολογίαν]
See on 1 Peter 3:15. Exculpation or self-defense from complicity with the incestuous person by their neglect and refusal to humble themselves. [source]
2 Corinthians 7:11 Earnest care [σπουδην]
Diligence, from σπευδω — speudō to hasten. Cf. Romans 12:11. Yea (αλλα — alla). Not adversative use of αλλα — alla but copulative as is common (half dozen examples here). Clearing of yourselves In the old notion of απολογια — apologia (self-vindication, self-defence) as in 1 Peter 3:15. Indignation (αγανακτησιν — aganaktēsin). Old word, only here in N.T. From αγανακτεο — aganakteo (Mark 10:14, etc.). Avenging Late word from εκδικεω — ekdikeō to avenge, to do justice (Luke 18:5; Luke 21:22), vindication from wrong as in Luke 18:7, to secure punishment (1 Peter 2:14). Pure (αγνους — hagnous). Kin to αγιος — hagios (αζω — hazō to reverence), immaculate. [source]
2 Corinthians 7:11 Clearing of yourselves [απολογια]
In the old notion of απολογια — apologia (self-vindication, self-defence) as in 1 Peter 3:15. Indignation (αγανακτησιν — aganaktēsin). Old word, only here in N.T. From αγανακτεο — aganakteo (Mark 10:14, etc.). Avenging Late word from εκδικεω — ekdikeō to avenge, to do justice (Luke 18:5; Luke 21:22), vindication from wrong as in Luke 18:7, to secure punishment (1 Peter 2:14). Pure (αγνους — hagnous). Kin to αγιος — hagios (αζω — hazō to reverence), immaculate. [source]
Philippians 1:7 Defense [ἀπολογία]
See on 1 Peter 3:15. [source]
2 Thessalonians 1:9 Glory of his power [δόξης τῆς ἰσχύος αὐτοῦ]
For glory see on 1 Thessalonians 2:12. Ἱσχὺς powernot often in Paul. It is indwelling power put forth or embodied, either aggressively or as an obstacle to resistance: physical power organized or working under individual direction. An army and a fortress are both ἰσχυρὸς. The power inhering in the magistrate, which is put forth in laws or judicial decisions, is ἰσχὺς , and makes the edicts ἰσχυρὰ validand hard to resist. Δύναμις is the indwelling power which comes to manifestation in ἰσχὺς The precise phrase used here does not appear elsewhere in N.T. In lxx, Isaiah 2:10, Isaiah 2:19, Isaiah 2:21. The power ( δύναμις ) and glory of God are associated in Matthew 24:30; Mark 13:26; Luke 21:27; Revelation 4:11; Revelation 19:1. Comp. κράτος τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ strengthof his glory, Colossians 1:11. Additional Note on ὄλεθρον αἰώνιον eternaldestruction, 2 Thessalonians 1:9 Ἁιών transliterated eon is a period of time of longer or shorter duration, having a beginning and an end, and complete in itself. Aristotle ( περὶ οὐρανοῦ , i. 9,15) says: “The period which includes the whole time of each one's life is called the eon of each one.” Hence it often means the life of a man, as in Homer, where one's life ( αἰών ) is said to leave him or to consume away (Il. v. 685; Od. v. 160). It is not, however, limited to human life; it signifies any period in the course of events, as the period or age before Christ; the period of the millennium; the mytho-logical period before the beginnings of history. The word has not “a stationary and mechanical value” (De Quincey). It does not mean a period of a fixed length for all cases. There are as many eons as entities, the respective durations of which are fixed by the normal conditions of the several entities. There is one eon of a human life, another of the life of a nation, another of a crow's life, another of an oak's life. The length of the eon depends on the subject to which it is attached. It is sometimes translated world; world representing a period or a series of periods of time. See Matthew 12:32; Matthew 13:40, Matthew 13:49; Luke 1:70; 1 Corinthians 1:20; 1 Corinthians 2:6; Ephesians 1:21. Similarly οἱ αἰῶνες theworlds, the universe, the aggregate of the ages or periods, and their contents which are included in the duration of the world. 1 Corinthians 2:7; 1 Corinthians 10:11; Hebrews 1:2; Hebrews 9:26; Hebrews 11:3. -DIVIDER-
-DIVIDER-
The word always carries the notion of time, and not of eternity. It always means a period of time. Otherwise it would be impossible to account for the plural, or for such qualifying expressions as this age, or the age to come. It does not mean something endless or everlasting. To deduce that meaning from its relation to ἀεί is absurd; for, apart from the fact that the meaning of a word is not definitely fixed by its derivation, ἀεί does not signify endless duration. When the writer of the Pastoral Epistles quotes the saying that the Cretans are always ( ἀεί ) liars (Titus 1:12), he surely does not mean that the Cretans will go on lying to all eternity. See also Acts 7:51; 2 Corinthians 4:11; 2 Corinthians 6:10; Hebrews 3:10; 1 Peter 3:15. Ἁεί means habitually or continually within the limit of the subject's life. In our colloquial dialect everlastingly is used in the same way. “The boy is everlastingly tormenting me to buy him a drum.”-DIVIDER-
In the New Testament the history of the world is conceived as developed through a succession of eons. A series of such eons precedes the introduction of a new series inaugurated by the Christian dispensation, and the end of the world and the second coming of Christ are to mark the beginning of another series. See Ephesians 3:11. Paul contemplates eons before and after the Christian era. Ephesians 1:21; Ephesians 2:7; Ephesians 3:9, Ephesians 3:21; 1 Corinthians 10:11; comp. Hebrews 9:26. He includes the series of eons in one great eon, ὁ αἰὼν τῶν αἰώνων theeon of the eons (Ephesians 3:21); and the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews describes the throne of God as enduring unto the eon of the eons (Hebrews 1:8). The plural is also used, eons of the eons, signifying all the successive periods which make up the sum total of the ages collectively. Romans 16:27; Galatians 1:5; Philemon 4:20, etc. This plural phrase is applied by Paul to God only. -DIVIDER-
-DIVIDER-
The adjective αἰώνιος in like manner carries the idea of time. Neither the noun nor the adjective, in themselves, carry the sense of endless or everlasting. They may acquire that sense by their connotation, as, on the other hand, ἀΐ̀διος , which means everlasting, has its meaning limited to a given point of time in Judges 1:6. Ἁιώνιος means enduring through or pertaining to a period of time. Both the noun and the adjective are applied to limited periods. Thus the phrase εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα , habitually rendered forever, is often used of duration which is limited in the very nature of the case. See, for a few out of many instances, lxx, Exodus 21:6; Exodus 29:9; Exodus 32:13; Joshua 14:9; 1 Samuel 8:13; Leviticus 25:46; Deuteronomy 15:17; 1 Chronicles 28:4. See also Matthew 21:19; John 13:8; 1 Corinthians 8:13. The same is true of αἰώνιος . Out of 150 instances in lxx, four-fifths imply limited duration. For a few instances see Genesis 48:4; Numbers 10:8; Numbers 15:15; Proverbs 22:28; Jonah 2:6; Habakkuk 3:6; Isaiah 61:8. -DIVIDER-
-DIVIDER-
Words which are habitually applied to things temporal or material can not carry in themselves the sense of endlessness. Even when applied to God, we are not forced to render αἰώνιος everlastingOf course the life of God is endless; but the question is whether, in describing God as αἰώνιος , it was intended to describe the duration of his being, or whether some different and larger idea was not contemplated. That God lives longer than men, and lives on everlastingly, and has lived everlastingly, are, no doubt, great and significant facts; yet they are not the dominant or the most impressive facts in God's relations to time. God's eternity does not stand merely or chiefly for a scale of length. It is not primarily a mathematical but a moral fact. The relations of God to time include and imply far more than the bare fact of endless continuance. They carry with them the fact that God transcends time; works on different principles and on a vaster scale than the wisdom of time provides; oversteps the conditions and the motives of time; marshals the successive eons from a point outside of time, on lines which run out into his own measureless cycles, and for sublime moral ends which the creature of threescore and ten years cannot grasp and does not even suspect. -DIVIDER-
-DIVIDER-
There is a word for everlasting if that idea is demanded. That αἰώνιος occurs rarely in the New Testament and in lxx does not prove that its place was taken by αἰώνιος . It rather goes to show that less importance was attached to the bare idea of everlastingness than later theological thought has given it. Paul uses the word once, in Romans 1:20, where he speaks of “the everlasting power and divinity of God.” In Romans 16:26he speaks of the eternal God ( τοῦ αἰωνίου θεοῦ ); but that he does not mean the everlasting God is perfectly clear from the context. He has said that “the mystery” has been kept in silence in times eternal ( χρόνοις αἰωνίοις ), by which he does not mean everlasting times, but the successive eons which elapsed before Christ was proclaimed. God therefore is described as the God of the eons, the God who pervaded and controlled those periods before the incarnation. To the same effect is the title ὁ βασιλεὺς τῶν αἰώνων theKing of the eons, applied to God in 1 Timothy 1:17; Revelation 15:3; comp. 2Timothy href="/desk/?q=2ti+1:9&sr=1">2 Timothy 1:9; Titus 1:2), cannot mean before everlasting times. To say that God bestowed grace on men, or promised them eternal life before endless times, would be absurd. The meaning is of old, as Luke 1:70. The grace and the promise were given in time, but far back in the ages, before the times of reckoning the eons. -DIVIDER-
-DIVIDER-
Ζωὴ αἰώνιος eternallife, which occurs 42 times in N.T., but not in lxx, is not endless life, but life pertaining to a certain age or eon, or continuing during that eon. I repeat, life may be endless. The life in union with Christ is endless, but the fact is not expressed by αἰώνιος . Κόλασις αἰώνιος , rendered everlasting punishment (Matthew 25:46), is the punishment peculiar to an eon other than that in which Christ is speaking. In some cases ζωὴ αἰώνιος does not refer specifically to the life beyond time, but rather to the eon or dispensation of Messiah which succeeds the legal dispensation. See Matthew 19:16; John 5:39. John says that ζωὴ αἰώνιος is the present possession of those who believe on the Son of God, John 3:36; John 5:24; John 6:47, John 6:64. The Father's commandment is ζωὴ αἰώσιος , John 12:50; to know the only true God and Jesus Christ is ζωὴ αἰώνιος , John 17:3. -DIVIDER-
-DIVIDER-
Bishop Westcott very justly says, commenting upon the terms used by John to describe life under different aspects: “In considering these phrases it is necessary to premise that in spiritual things we must guard against all conclusions which rest upon the notions of succession and duration. 'Eternal life' is that which St. Paul speaks of as ἡ ὄντως ζωὴ thelife which is life indeed, and ἡ ζωὴ τοῦ θεοῦ thelife of God. It is not an endless duration of being in time, but being of which time is not a measure. We have indeed no powers to grasp the idea except through forms and images of sense. These must be used, but we must not transfer them as realities to another order.”-DIVIDER-
Thus, while αἰώνιος carries the idea of time, though not of endlessness, there belongs to it also, more or less, a sense of quality. Its character is ethical rather than mathematical. The deepest significance of the life beyond time lies, not in endlessness, but in the moral quality of the eon into which the life passes. It is comparatively unimportant whether or not the rich fool, when his soul was required of him (Luke 12:20), entered upon a state that was endless. The principal, the tremendous fact, as Christ unmistakably puts it, was that, in the new eon, the motives, the aims, the conditions, the successes and awards of time counted for nothing. In time, his barns and their contents were everything; the soul was nothing. In the new life the soul was first and everything, and the barns and storehouses nothing. The bliss of the sanctified does not consist primarily in its endlessness, but in the nobler moral conditions of the new eon, - the years of the holy and eternal God. Duration is a secondary idea. When it enters it enters as an accompaniment and outgrowth of moral conditions. -DIVIDER-
-DIVIDER-
In the present passage it is urged that ὄλεθρον destructionpoints to an unchangeable, irremediable, and endless condition. If this be true, if ὄλεθρος isextinction, then the passage teaches the annihilation of the wicked, in which case the adjective αἰώνιος is superfluous, since extinction is final, and excludes the idea of duration. But ὄλεθρος does not always mean destruction or extinction. Take the kindred verb ἀπόλλυμι todestroy, put an end to, or in the middle voice, to be lost, to perish. Peter says, “the world being deluged with water, perished ” ( ἀπολοῦνται 2 Peter 3:6); but the world did not become extinct, it was renewed. In Hebrews 1:11, Hebrews 1:12quoted from Isaiah href="/desk/?q=isa+51:6&sr=1">Isaiah 51:6, Isaiah 51:16; Isaiah 65:17; Isaiah 66:22; 2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:1. Similarly, “the Son of man came to save that which was lost ” ( ἀπολωλός ), Luke 19:10. Jesus charged his apostles to go to the lost ( ἀπολωλότα ) sheep of the house of Israel, Matthew 10:6, comp. Matthew 15:24. “He that shall lose ( ἀπολέσῃ ) his life for my sake shall find it,” Matthew 16:25. Comp. Luke 15:6, Luke 15:9, Luke 15:32. -DIVIDER-
-DIVIDER-
In this passage the word destruction is qualified. It is “destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power, “ at his second coming, in the new eon. In other words, it is the severance, at a given point of time, of those who obey not the gospel from the presence and the glory of Christ. Ἁιώνιος may therefore describe this severance as continuing during the millennial eon between Christ's coming and the final judgment; as being for the wicked prolonged throughout that eon and characteristic of it, or it may describe the severance as characterizing or enduring through a period or eon succeeding the final judgment, the extent of which period is not defined. In neither case is αἰώνιος to be interpreted as everlasting or endless.sa180 [source]

2 Timothy 4:16 At my first answer [ἐν τῇ πρώτῃ μου ἀπολογίᾳ]
Ἁπολογία defensein a judicial trial. Comp. Acts 25:16. Also against private persons, as 1 Corinthians 9:3; 2 Corinthians 7:11. Defense of the gospel against its adversaries, as Philemon 1:7, Philemon 1:16; comp. 1 Peter 3:15(note). It is impossible to decide to what this refers. On the assumption of a second imprisonment of Paul (see Introduction) it would probably refer to a preliminary hearing before the main trial. It is not improbable that the writer had before his mind the situation of Paul as described in Philemon href="/desk/?q=phm+1:7&sr=1">Philemon 1:7, Philemon 1:16, has no specific reference to Paul's trial, but refers to the defense of the gospel under any and all circumstances. In any case, the first Romans imprisonment cannot be alluded to here. On that supposition, the omission of all reference to Timothy's presence and personal ministry at that time, and the words about his first defense, which must have taken place before Timothy left Rome (Philemon 2:19-23) and which is here related as a piece of news, are quite inexplicable. [source]
1 Peter 1:3 Hope [ἐλπίδα]
Peter is fond of this word also (see 1 Peter 1:13, 1 Peter 1:21; 1 Peter 3:5, 1 Peter 3:15), which, in classical Greek, has the general signification of expectancy, relating to evil as well as to good. Thus Plato speaks of living in evil hope (“Republic,” i., 330); i.e., in the apprehension of evil; and Thucydides, of the hope of evils to come; i.e., the expectation or apprehension. In the New Testament the word always relates to a future good. [source]
Jude 1:23 And on some have mercy with fear [ους δε ελεατε εν ποβωι]
In fear “of the contagion of sin while we are rescuing them” (Vincent). For this idea see 1 Peter 1:17; 1 Peter 3:15; 2 Corinthians 7:1; Philemon 2:12.Spotted (εσπιλωμενον — espilōmenon). Perfect passive participle of σπιλοω — spiloō late and common verb (from σπιλος — spilos spot, 2 Peter 2:13), in N.T. only here and James 3:6. [source]

What do the individual words in 1 Peter 3:15 mean?

[As] Lord however - Christ sanctify in the hearts of you ready always for a defense to everyone - asking you an account concerning the you hope yet with gentleness and fear
Κύριον δὲ τὸν Χριστὸν ἁγιάσατε ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ὑμῶν ἕτοιμοι ἀεὶ πρὸς ἀπολογίαν παντὶ τῷ αἰτοῦντι ὑμᾶς λόγον περὶ τῆς ὑμῖν ἐλπίδος ἀλλὰ μετὰ πραΰτητος καὶ φόβου

Κύριον  [As]  Lord 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: κύριος  
Sense: he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; master, lord.
δὲ  however 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: δέ  
Sense: but, moreover, and, etc.
τὸν  - 
Parse: Article, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
Χριστὸν  Christ 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: Χριστός  
Sense: Christ was the Messiah, the Son of God.
ἁγιάσατε  sanctify 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Imperative Active, 2nd Person Plural
Root: ἁγιάζω 
Sense: to render or acknowledge, or to be venerable or hallow.
καρδίαις  hearts 
Parse: Noun, Dative Feminine Plural
Root: καρδία  
Sense: the heart.
ὑμῶν  of  you 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive 2nd Person Plural
Root: σύ  
Sense: you.
ἕτοιμοι  ready 
Parse: Adjective, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: ἕτοιμος  
Sense: prepare ready.
ἀεὶ  always 
Parse: Adverb
Root: ἀεί  
Sense: perpetually, incessantly.
ἀπολογίαν  a  defense 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: ἀπολογία  
Sense: verbal defence, speech in defence.
παντὶ  to  everyone 
Parse: Adjective, Dative Masculine Singular
Root: πᾶς  
Sense: individually.
τῷ  - 
Parse: Article, Dative Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
αἰτοῦντι  asking 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Active, Dative Masculine Singular
Root: αἰτέω  
Sense: to ask, beg, call for, crave, desire, require.
λόγον  an  account 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: λόγος  
Sense: of speech.
περὶ  concerning 
Parse: Preposition
Root: περί 
Sense: about, concerning, on account of, because of, around, near.
ἐλπίδος  hope 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root: ἐλπίς  
Sense: expectation of evil, fear.
ἀλλὰ  yet 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: ἀλλά  
Sense: but.
πραΰτητος  gentleness 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root: πραΰτης  
Sense: mildness of disposition, gentleness of spirit, meekness.
φόβου  fear 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: φόβος  
Sense: fear, dread, terror.