“For us” is not simply a pithy line to use because it is easy to repeat. It is a confession of who God is and what He brings in giving us His Son. It helps us understand why God would send His Son to die for us.

The phrase “for us” also captures much of the Reformation’s theological emphasis—and Luther’s understanding of Scripture in particular. Luther went from searching for a righteous God and finding only stern rebuke to seeing God in the form of a little baby and as the one who became one of us for us so that we might become like Him.

Our midweek Lenten preaching series is based on the hymn “O Love, How Deep” (LSB 544). Some hymns tell a story, others teach, and still others create pictures in our minds of the great works of God. “O Love, How Deep” is the kind of hymn that does all three, weaving together a tapestry that is beautiful yet simple, wondrous yet easy to understand.

Although it does not appear in the first stanza, the most pointed and beautiful language in the hymn is expressed in the phrase “for us.” The phrase is reminiscent of the language of the Nicene Creed: “Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven.”