Text: Matthew 1:18–25
Topic: God becoming Immanuel, the divine living among us.

• Matthew 1:18–25.
• We make a mistake by thinking about God in four-dimensional terms.
• According to string theorists, there was a dimensional split shortly after the creation event, which means there are at least ten dimensions, which leads Dr. Hugh Ross to argue that God is at least eleven dimensional.
• The truth is: God is omni-dimensional or extra-dimensional.
• We all underestimate God.
  • Illustration: Dr. Ross: "We doctrinally orthodox Christians potentially underestimate God's nature, powers, and capacities by a factor of a trillion in one dimension." If you add just a second dimension, we underestimate God by a trillion to the trillionth power.
• We underestimate God by infinity to the infinity power.

• God is the Almighty One. But he is also Immanuel.
• If you want a balanced picture of God you've got to juxtapose those two names.
• He is God Most High and God Most Nigh.
• He exists outside time and space. He is also Immanuel—God with us.
• God entered space-time 2,000 years ago in Bethlehem.
• Galatians 4:4.
• Jesus was subject to the same spiritual laws that govern all of us. He was also subject to the same physical laws that govern the universe.
• It's easier for us to accept that Jesus was fully God than that he was fully human.
• But we underestimate the humanness as well as the divinity of Jesus.
• As a carpenter, did Jesus ever miss the nail and hit his thumb? Did he ever got a splinter?
• Jesus got bumps and bruises and toothaches and stomachaches and headaches. He got tired and hungry. He got sad and mad.
• Hebrews 4:15 says he was tempted just like we are, but he never gave into temptation. He suffered like we do. More than we do.
  • Illustration: William Shakespeare: "He jests at scars who never felt a wound."
• We don't serve a scarless God. We serve a God with scarred hands and feet and side and back.
• Isaiah 52:14.

• Philippians 2:6.
• God put skin on. He became touchable and approachable.
• The Omnipresent One downsized to the confines of a human womb. The Omnipotent One became a helpless baby that had to be fed and nursed and burped. The Omniscient One had to learn reading, writing, and arithmetic.
• He became nothing. Why?
• He became nothing so that we could become something. It's all about trading places.
• 2 Corinthians 5:21.
• Jesus makes us a deal we can't refuse. He says, "Give me all of your sin. I'll give you all of my righteousness. And we'll call it even."
  • Illustration: Dick Foth: "He came to our place. He took our place. And he invites us back to his place."
• That is the gospel in a nutshell.

• The greatest gift a parent can give a child is the present of presence. That is what kids crave.
  • Illustration: Batterson's youngest son is at the stage where he never wants him to leave.
  • Illustration: Batterson's parents drove 32 hours to watch him play basketball in college.
• The greatest gift God gives us is the present of presence.
• Jesus said, "I will be with you always, even to the end of the age."
• The Holy Spirit is our 24/7 counselor. He is always on call. Before you got up this morning and after you go to bed tonight, he will be interceding for you!
  • Illustration: A.W. Tozer said that "most Christians are theological Christians. … They're trying to be happy without a sense of the presence."
• The best experiences are lacking when we experience them by ourselves. The greatest experiences are shared experiences.
  • Illustration: One of the happiest days of Batterson's life was when he spent the day on Catalina Island. But he kept wishing his wife was with him.
• The Almighty One became "God with us" because he wanted to be with us.
• Here is an amazing thought: God wants to spend eternity with you.

• Revelation 21:3.
• Christ came to our place. He took our place. And he invites us back to his place.