Answer: In our hearts we should set apart Christ as Lord, (verse 15).
MORE INFORMATION AND/OR OTHER SCRIPTURE REFERENCES:
"Set apart" is translated as "sanctify" in the KJV. It comes from the Greek verb hagiazo, most commonly translated "sanctify." It literally means, "make holy." It is also used in the sense of "set apart." Since we cannot make God holy, perhaps the best translation is the NIV rendering of "set apart."
In our hearts, reverence for God and not fear of man should characterize us as Christians. GOD is the One we should hold in reverent fear, and He is the One we are to dread should we fail to meet HIS requirements. The requirements (or persecutions) of men have no comparison to serving the Holy One. "Since you call on a Father Who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear," (1 Peter 1:17).
A significant variation is made in the passage from Isaiah 8:12-13 alluded to here in 1 Peter 3:14-15. Where Isaiah has "the Lord Almighty," Peter substitutes "Christ," demonstrating that "Christ as Lord" was truly divine, being "the Lord Almighty." Compare 1 Peter 3:14-15 to Isaiah 8:12-13 (following): "Do not call conspiracy everything that these people call conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. The Lord Almighty is the One you are to regard as holy, He is the One you are to fear, He is the One you are to dread...."
