“And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear” (1 Peter 1:17).
If we were to borrow a computer software programming term, we might say that 1 Peter 1:17 presents us with a “conditional statement.” This describes a type of cause-and-effect relationship: if a condition is met, then an action is performed.
The grammar of this passage assumes that the first part of that conditional statement (“if you call on the Father“) has already been fulfilled. (1) So, in view of that fulfilled condition, this passage urges us to take action as a result: “…conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear.”
That brings us to the word “fear.” Our modern-day use of this word usually invokes a sense of apprehension or the state of being afraid. However, the word “fear” is also is used to convey the qualities of reverence, honor, and respect. Consider how Jesus employed this word in the Gospel of Luke…
“And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!” (Luke 12:4-5).
When we speak of our responsibility to “fear God” in this manner, it means that we should honor and respect Him above all else. This attitude of honor, respect, and reverence serves as the basis for what we read here in 1 Peter 1:17. Yet, even though the word “fear” communicates an attitude of honor and respect in this context, we should avoid the mistake of thinking that we have nothing to be afraid of regarding God.
While God is loving, slow to become angry, kind, gracious, and compassionate, He is also to be respected and honored. He is not to be treated lightly, for “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” as we are told in Hebrews 10:31.
Nevertheless, we have no reason to be fearful of God when we approach Him through Christ, for it is there where we will find love and acceptance through His sacrifice on our behalf. Thus, we can experience freedom without fearfulness in our relationship with God, for everything that might strike terror within us regarding our Creator has been eliminated through Jesus’ atoning sacrifice.
(1) “The ‘if’ does not introduce an hypothesis but a fulfilled condition. ‘Since,’ or ‘in view of the fact,’ is the idea in the word…The idea in the Greek is, ‘in view of the fact that you call on as Father.'” (Kenneth S. Wuest, Word Studies in the Greek New Testament (1 Peter 1:17-21) Copyright © 1942-55 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.