Welcome to our multi-presentation dealing with the Priesthood in which we look at the Old Testament Priesthood, the Priestly ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ and the role and function of the modern day Priesthood.

It takes a special person to be chosen and ordained to this office because it is a high calling—a Godly appointed office that no man can take up of his own volition. It takes a special kind of person to occupy such an office and meet God’s very strict and precise standards. This is particularly evident in the Old Testament when God gave Moses detailed instructions concerning their qualifications where we shall begin.

We then look at the Priestly Ministry of Jesus and conclude the series with an analysis of the priestly ministry of a believer today.

I ask you to stop before continuing and pray that the Holy Spirit will speak to you and give you understanding the way Paul prayed:

For this reason, ever since I heard about your trust in the Lord Yeshua and your love for all God’s people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you.
In my prayers I keep asking the God of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, the glorious Father, to give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you will have full knowledge of him.
I pray that he will give light to the eyes of your hearts, so that you will understand the hope to which he has called you, what rich glories there are in the inheritance he has promised his people, and how surpassingly great is his power working in us who trust him. It works with the same mighty strength he used when he worked in the Messiah to raise him from the dead and seat him at his right hand in heaven, far above every ruler, authority, power, dominion or any other name that can be named either in this world, but also in that which is to come.
Also, he has put all things under his feet and made him head over everything for the Messianic Community, which is his body, the full expression of him who fills all creation. Ephesians 1:15–23

Much mention is made in the Old Testament about the priesthood.

The books of the Pentateuch go into much detail concerning the priesthood and the various laws and ordinances involved and the way of life for God’s people. Everything hinged around the Tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant and the Priesthood.

The positioning of the various tribes ensured that Moses and the priests camped at the entry to the tabernacle complex. Everything about the priesthood speaks about Jesus and the plan of salvation, but mention of priesthood actually begins well before the Exodus.

After Abram came back from defeating Chedorlaomer and his allies, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Shaveh Valley (that is, the King’s Valley). Then King Melchizedek of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was a priest of God Most High. He blessed Abram, and said, “Blessed is Abram by God Most High, maker of heaven and earth (the greater blesses the lesser). Blessed is God Most High, who has handed your enemies over to you.” Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything. The king of Sodom (a type of the devil) said to Abram, “Give me the people, and keep everything else for yourself.” (the devil wants souls. We can have the {world’s} money ... If we let him have the people) But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I now raise my hand and solemnly swear to the Lord God Most High, maker of heaven and earth, that I won’t take a thread or a sandal strap. I won’t take anything that is yours so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’ (he had made God his source) I won’t take one single thing except what my men have eaten. But let my allies Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre take their share” Genesis 14:17-21 (emphasis mine).

 Many people believe that the man Abraham met may have been Jesus. This requires more in-depth study of course, but it is worth consideration. We know little of him until the book of Hebrews. Little is said of this elsewhere in the New Testament. We read of the priests in the Gospel accounts and the book of Acts, but as for the priesthood we are discussing in particular, little is said until Hebrews chapter two that speaks much about Jesus. The table seen next shares some interesting facts.

New testament

Hebrews 7:3-6

Hebrews 5:10, 6:20, 7:21-28
Hebrews 7:1
Hebrews 4:7-8; John 8:55-59
Hebrews 1:8, 7:2; 1 Corinthians 1:30
Revelation1:5-6

When speaking of Jesus in Hebrews, the author, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit said about the Lord:

So in every way He had to be made like His brothers, in order to become a compassionate and trustworthy High Priest in matters related to Elohim, to make atonement for the sins of the people.
For in what He had suffered, Himself being tried, He is able to help those who are tried.
Therefore, set-apart brothers, partakers of the heavenly calling, closely consider the Emissary and High Priest of our confession, Messiah ,
who was trustworthy to Him who appointed Him, as also Mosheh in all His house.
For this One has been deemed worthy of more esteem than Mosheh, as much as He who built the house enjoys more respect than the house. For every house is built by someone, but He who built all is Elohim. Hebrews 2:17–3:4

Scriptures reveal that a Priest’s role is to offer gifts and sacrifices for sin and that no man assumes this office unless Divinely appointed. Jesus was appointed by God to be a priest like Melchizedek. God brought Israel out of Egypt with mighty signs and wonders and during their journeys throughout the wilderness instructing Moses to build a tabernacle.

And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst. Exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so you shall make it. Exodus 25:8-9 (emphasis mine).

God’s instructions were very specific. The tabernacle and everything associated with it had to be constructed in strict accord with His design or pattern. They were not to deviate from the design, because everything about it and its service spoke in some way about Jesus.

It revealed the plan of salvation. If it was the type, Jesus was the anti-type. If it was the shadow of things to come Jesus was the fulfillment of that shadow. This is reinforced in summary form in Hebrews 8:1-5.

Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man. For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer. For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law: Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.

The design and construction of the tabernacle is seen in Exodus 25 to 27. God was adamant about the details of its construction. The Priesthood also had strict requirements. Three full chapters are devoted to their appointment and service, also revealing the priestly ministry and service of Jesus. It was a Divinely appointed position that was established with the same stringent requirements and was therefore reserved for a special kind of person.

Then bring near to you Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the people of Israel, to serve me as priests—Aaron and Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. You shall speak to all the skillful, whom I have filled with a spirit of skill, that they make Aaron’s garments to consecrate him for my priesthood. Exodus 28:1-3.

Their consecration for ministry is as follows:

Here is what you are to do to consecrate them for ministry to me in the office of Cohen. Take one young bull and two rams without defect, also matzah, matzah cakes mixed with olive oil, and matzah wafers spread with oil—all made from fine wheat flour; put them together in a basket, and present them in the basket, along with the bull and the two rams...

The bull had to be a young bull in its prime. The lambs had to be without defect and the bread had to be of fine wheat flour. God set a very high standard. The two lambs had to be deemed without defect, so this meant that they had to be inspected and pass the qualifying tests. The actual ordination for service followed the same lines. When talking about the anointing oil, God went into much detail and we need to look carefully at this:

ADONAI said to Moshe, Take the best spices—500 shekels of myrrh [12 1/2 pounds], half this amount (250 shekels) of aromatic cinnamon [6 1/4 pounds], 250 shekels of aromatic cane, 500 shekels of cassia (use the sanctuary standard), and one gallon of olive oil—and make them into a holy anointing oil; blend it and perfume it as would an expert perfume-maker; it will be a holy anointing oil. Use it to anoint the tent of meeting, the ark for the testimony, the table and all its utensils, the menorah and all its utensils, the incense altar, the altar for burnt offerings and all its utensils, and the basin with its base. You are to consecrate them—they will be especially holy, and whatever touches them will be holy. Then you are to anoint Aharon and his sons—you are to consecrate them to serve me in the office of Cohen. “Tell the people of Isra’el, ‘This is to be a holy anointing oil for me through all your generations. It is not to be used for anointing a person’s body; and you are not to make any like it, with the same composition of ingredients—it is holy, and you are to treat it as holy. Whoever makes any like it or uses it on any unauthorized person is to be cut off from his people.’ ” (emphasis mine) ADONAI said to Moshe, “Take aromatic plant substances—balsam resin, sweet onycha root and bitter galbanum gum—these spices along with frankincense, all in equal quantities; and make incense, blended and perfumed as would an expert perfume-maker, salted, pure and holy. You are to grind up some of it very finely and put it in front of the testimony in the tent of meeting where I will meet with you; you are to regard it as especially holy. You are not to make for your own use any incense like it, with the same composition of ingredients—you are to treat it as holy, for ADONAI. Whoever makes up any like it to use as perfume is to be cut off from his people.” Exodus 30:22-38

God had a precise image in mind. He had a plan that required precise planning, accuracy; faithfulness and obedience; dedication and consecration and strict rules for application. Quality control had to be of the highest order. The selection of persons and materials used for the job had to be done carefully. Similar principles had to apply for Jesus so that He could qualify to be our Great High Priest.

The bible describes these matters as shadows of things to come, so it is evident therefore that the one who would represent all of mankind as our advocate with the Father met the criteria. We readily accept the nativity story, think of His three years of ministry, trial, execution and bodily resurrection, but forget that He walked the earth as an ordinary man. He was thus subject to all things that affect us. He was tempted in all ways that we are, but never sinned.

Hebrews 5:8-10 says something worth investigating.

Although He was a Son, He learned [active, special] obedience through what He suffered And, [His completed experience] making Him perfectly [equipped], He became the Author and Source of eternal salvation to all those who give heed and obey Him, Being designated and recognized and saluted by God as High Priest after the order (with the rank) of Melchizedek.

In this clear reference to Melchizedek, Jesus (the man) was designated, recognized and saluted by God as Great High Priest! I cannot overemphasize this fact because it is vitally important. Jesus had to meet His criteria! This raises the question, “How”?

How could anyone ascertain that the man was fit to represent humanity? After all, the priest inspected the sacrificial lamb to ensure it was worthy ad if Jesus is our sacrificial lamb slain before the foundation of the world, He had to pass similar tests to ensure that He was indeed God’s chosen sacrificial lamb. If not, then God would have been unrighteous. He would have shown partiality and the whole plan of salvation thus rendered illegal by God’s own high standards.

I reiterate. Jesus had to be found perfect in the same way that the Old Testament lambs or goats had to be perfect. The animals chosen for sacrifice were thoroughly inspected for purity. If any defects or blemishes of any Kind they were not acceptable, so the priest examined them closely before pronouncing them fit for the sacrifice. I present the following incident revealed in Matthew 17, Mark 9 and Luke 9 that talk about the Mount of Transfiguration to you for your prayerful assessment.

Perhaps it was here when Jesus had been examined according to The Law, to be affirmed by prophets (Moses and Elijah), by man and then meeting the Father’s approval. 

..“I tell you that there are some people standing here who will not experience death until they see the Kingdom of God come in a powerful way!”
Six days later, Yeshua took Kefa, Ya‘akov and Yochanan and led them up a high mountain privately. As they watched, he began to change form, and his clothes became dazzlingly white, whiter than anyone in the world could possibly bleach them. Then they saw Eliyahu and Moshe speaking with Yeshua.
Kefa said to Yeshua, “It’s good that we’re here, Rabbi! Let’s put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moshe and one for Eliyahu.” (He didn’t know what to say, they were so frightened.)
Then a cloud enveloped them; and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!” Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Yeshua. Mark 9:1–8

Luke’s account reveals something interesting.

And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray. And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering. And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias: Who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem. Luke 9:28-31

Luke said that both Moses and Elijah spoke with Him about Calvary. There are two aspects to consider.

The Law came through Moses requiring sacrifice for sin and demanding that the lamb had to meet the criteria! Moses represented The Law. Could it be that he “inspected” the Lamb according to The Law? Having done so, he could declare that the one he spoke with was qualified. What then about Elijah?  He was a prophet and scriptures link the prophet Elijah with the coming of the Lord. John the Baptist came in the spirit and power of Elijah to prepare the way of the Lord, calling Him the Lamb of God twice, once calling Jesus:
…the Lamb of God which takes away the sins of the world. John 1:29

John spoke of the sacrificial lamb! If Elijah spoke with Jesus about His death, this conversation must have touched on the Sacrificial Lamb. Perhaps Elijah inspected Jesus in this light to determine if He met the terms of prophecy and fulfilled what was spoken.

Scriptures like 1 Corinthians 13:9 talk about confirmation of things at the mouth of witnesses and there are witnesses in this account. Moses tested Jesus according to The Law and pronounced Him fit for Priesthood and qualified Him as acceptable for the sacrificial lamb. Elijah looked at Him in the light of prophecy. He assessed Jesus as meeting the fulfillment of prophetic injunctions and pronounced Him fit. The third witness was Peter. He saw something extraordinary and said, “It is good”, wanting to build a tabernacle as a memorial.

If witnesses see things, he was in essence a witness to something. Please consider that it was by the hand of man that the fall came, therefore it may have been necessary for man to be witness to the way God intended to restore man. It was as if Peter acted as our representative to say on our behalf, “We accept God’s provision”.

No matter how men think about anything however, the question remains, “Does this satisfy the Father God”? We always need to remember if it pleases God or not. We should always keep such matters in our minds and ask that question if we are unsure. Stop and ask, “What would Jesus do?” The voice that came from Heaven after all those things transpired declared, “I accept your choice”! The voice that came from Heaven ratified their actions. We would do well to heed it today. “This is My Beloved Son. Listen to Him. Obey Him”.

It would seem to me that this is where the Lamb of God was inspected and approved to be the Lamb that met all of Gods stringent requirements. Jesus was a man approved by God (Acts 10:38) to be Prophet, Priest, Sacrificial Lamb and soon coming King.

We are now coming to the part that directly relates to us in this study. I want to say something now that is designed to bless you, in keeping with the instructions given to us by the Holy Spirit.

Blessed (happy, to be envied) is the man who reads aloud [in the assemblies] the word of this prophecy; and blessed (happy, to be envied) are those who hear [it read] and who keep themselves true to the things which are written in it [heeding them and laying them to heart], for the time [for them to be fulfilled] is near.

The apostle John may have been writing to the seven churches of Asia, but he could equally as well be addressing the churches of our day. According to John, you are blessed because you just read it! He continued:

...May grace (God’s unmerited favor) be granted to you and spiritual peace (the peace of Christ’s kingdom) from Him Who is and Who was and Who is to come, and from the seven Spirits [the sevenfold Holy Spirit] before His throne, And from Jesus Christ the faithful and trustworthy Witness, the Firstborn of the dead [first to be brought back to life] and the Prince (Ruler) of the kings of the earth.  To Him Who ever loves us and has once [for all] loosed and freed us from our sins by His own blood, And formed us into a kingdom (a royal race), priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the power and the majesty and the dominion throughout the ages and forever and ever. Amen (so be it).

Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth shall gaze upon Him and beat their breasts and mourn and lament over Him. Even so [must it be]. Amen (so be it) (emphasis mine) Revelation 1:3-7.

When we are in covenant relationship with God, we are royalty. This is not a rash and bold statement. Paul told us in Romans 12:1-3 th have a true and honest opinion of ourselves, meassuing ourselves against Christ. We are priests, but not in the earthly manner adopted by many religious institutions.

No human ordination ceremony, licensing, certificate or diploma can provide achieve that. The precious blood of Jesus did that!

We are qualified to offer spiritual sacrifices to God, acceptable to Him.

Having put aside, then, all evil, and all deceit, and hypocrisies, and envyings, and all evil words, as newborn babes, desire the unadulterated milk of the Word, in order that you grow by it, if indeed you have tasted that the Master is good.
Drawing near to Him, a living Stone—rejected indeed by men, but chosen by Elohim and precious—you also, as living stones, are being built up, a spiritual house, a set-apart priesthood, to offer up spiritual slaughter offerings acceptable to Elohim through ¢ Messiah
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a set-apart nation, a people for a possession, that you should proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvellous light. 1 Peter 2:1–5, 9

We qualify through Jesus.

Precision, planning and purpose:

We shall now look at the Exodus account in depth. God spoke at length in chapters 28 and 29 on the status of Priests who had to have the right lineage and the right background. Aaron and his sons were to be separated and holy to the Lord to minister to him in prescribed ways that are listed in the following section:

• They were required to keep Gods word
• They were not to touch a dead person (excluding their immediate family)
• They married virgins only. Their wives were to be of the right lineage
• They wore specially made priest’s garments that clothed or COVERED them
  The borders of the priest’s garment were to be embroidered with golden bells and pomegranates of blue, purple and scarlet

They had to be consecrated and anointed for service and this consecration was something special, because:

• Blood sacrifices were made
• They were washed clean with water
• They had to have a covering on their heads and
• They ate unleavened bread

Everything has a special place and function. Paul described this in 1 Corinthians chapter twelve when talking about the Church, using our bodies as an example. Each individual part fits precisely in its correct location and fulfills the sole purpose for which it is created and no part operates apart from the body.

Everything in God has a specific design, role, function and purpose and nothing happens by chance. 

The Kingdom functions by precise laws and principles. For example, we sometimes think that Abraham went to a place not knowing where it was and have a totally incorrect image of a man whose life affects us all to this day.

Religious teaching has led us astray. He was no wandering simpleminded nomad but a rich and powerful man with clout and vision who knew where God was sending him but that is another story.

God demands excellence and planning and Abraham had all that and more, leaving Haran with servants and substance or, goods, property, supplies and servants according to Genesis 12:5. That was before he arrived in Canaan. Genesis 13:2 states that he was very rich! He had a fully trained equipped and motivated army of 318 men and no one has such a force by chance. Precision, structure, organization, planning, discipline and other traits were in this man. God chose him, knowing he had those qualities He could use for His purpose.

The Israelites traveled through the wilderness in a precise order of procession and a prescribed way of doing things whereby everyone knew his place and his function.

Joshua entered the Promised Land with plans and preparations in place.

This is so with the Priesthood and it should be so in Christian ministry.

We get into a mess when people do not know their roles and identities, abilities and talents and are not organized, trained or equipped. Unfortunately many people who have not been called by God, equipped by God and ordained by God are occupying positions to which the Lord has not called them.

Every one of us should know who we are, what we are called to be and do and function in that capacity.

Peter stated in 1 Peter 2:9 that we are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a set-apart nation and a people for a possession, for a purpose. It is to proclaim the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvellous light.

The priesthood was a prime example of how God appointed special people for special tasks, one of which was that of Priest. This Old Testament Priesthood was established as a shadow of what was to come in, through and by the Lord Jesus Christ.

For that reason, a priest had to possess clear and precise qualities, or those things that qualify a person to be a priest. This is seen in Leviticus 21, particularly verses Leviticus 21:18-19 that list the requirements that will either qualify one for priesthood or disqualify him if he falls short of the mark. The priest was to be without defect.

Without defect:

... I am , who sets him apart.’ ” And ” spoke to Mosheh, saying, Speak to Aharon, saying, ‘No man of your offspring throughout their generations, who has any defect, is to draw near to bring the bread of his Elohim. Leviticus 21:16-17.

God clearly says here that anyone with any kind of a defect was not to be a minister of the Gospel... oops, I should say a priest! No Man! No exceptions! No excuses! The King James Version says it like this{

Thou shalt sanctify him therefore; for he offereth the bread of thy God: he shall be holy unto thee: for I the LORD, which sanctify you, am holy.

The word Bread is Leḥem in the Hebrew. We are not what we eat, but we are what we become. Deuteronomy 8:3 states that we do not live by bread as in food alone, but by spiritual manna which is the word of the Lord.

Jesus is called the bread of life. The Israelites ate unleavened bread before the Exodus, because leaven represents sin. To qualify, we have to know what God said, because by doing so we know the heart, mind, will, purpose and intent of God.

The bible itself speaks volumes about living clean, pure and holy lives by meditating the word of God. The word of God, when applied to our lives purifies us, prepares and equips us and helps us know what to do so that we can indeed be appropriately qualified to minister to God. See 2 Timothy 2:15 & 2 Timothy 3:15-17 where the concluding verse says it is to perfect us and thoroughly equip us for anything and everything. That was the foundation then and it is the same foundation for us today.

To qualify, the priest had to possess insight, understanding, relationship and revelation.

There are no second-hand relationships. No one can read the bible for you. No one can pray for you.

You have to do those things for yourself. Others may pray with you of course, but you have to do things yourself or risk eventual failure.

We must cultivate and develop our own intimate relationship with God and not be content with someone else’s experience. When we have this relationship, we can purify ourselves even as we are pure. God said that if the priest had ANY blemish, he was not qualified. A blemish, or Mûm, relates to any kind of spot, stain, moral imperfection, physical defect... anything! It originally referred to physical defects, but as we know, the physical represents the state of the spiritual.

A person with such defects was not even permitted to try getting close to God. That was serious, but I am so glad that Jesus opened the way for us to come into His presence with joy and boldness. The individual elements that qualified or disqualified anyone from holding such an office are listed in the order written in our two core verses. We shall now look at each in turn and in so doing, please remember that some topics may appear to be repeated. They do sound alike but there are slight differences that stand out, so I have listed them separately because they appear separately in scripture and it facilitates study.

God’s requirements:

The following is a full extract of Leviticus 21:1-24 where God stated the elements that qualify or disqualify a person from becoming a Priest.

Althought no gender separation exists in the Church, God specified that males only were to hold office.

And the LORD said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: ‘None shall defile himself for the dead among his people, except for his relatives who are nearest to him: his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, and his brother; also his virgin sister who is near to him, who has had no husband, for her he may defile himself. Otherwise he shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself.

‘They shall not make any bald place on their heads, nor shall they shave the edges of their beards nor make any cuttings in their flesh. They shall be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God, for they offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and the bread of their God; therefore they shall be holy. They shall not take a wife who is a harlot or a defiled woman, nor shall they take a woman divorced from her husband; for the priest is holy to his God. Therefore you shall consecrate him, for he offers the bread of your God. He shall be holy to you, for I the LORD, who sanctify you, am holy. The daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by playing the harlot, she profanes her father. She shall be burned with fire. 

‘He who is the high priest among his brethren, on whose head the anointing oil was poured and who is consecrated to wear the garments, shall not uncover his head nor tear his clothes; nor shall he go near any dead body, nor defile himself for his father or his mother; nor shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am the LORD. And he shall take a wife in her virginity. A widow or a divorced woman or a defiled woman or a harlot—these he shall not marry; but he shall take a virgin of his own people as wife. Nor shall he profane his posterity among his people, for I the LORD sanctify him.’ ” 

And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron, saying: ‘No man of your descendants in succeeding generations, who has any defect, may approach to offer the bread of his God. For any man who has a defect shall not approach: a man blind or lame, who has a marred face or any limb too long, a man who has a broken foot or broken hand, or is a hunchback or a dwarf, or a man who has a defect in his eye, or eczema or scab, or is a eunuch. No man of the descendants of Aaron the priest, who has a defect, shall come near to offer the offerings made by fire to the LORD. He has a defect; he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God. He may eat the bread of his God, both the most holy and the holy; only he shall not go near the veil or approach the altar, because he has a defect, lest she profane My sanctuaries; for I the LORD sanctify them.’ ” 

And Moses told it to Aaron and his sons, and to all the children of Israel.

The following list reveals God's strict requirements regarding the priesthood

If a priest was blemished in any of the points we have discussed, he had a diminished relationship with God and was not permitted to come close to God.

Intimacy of relationship is paramount and there is but ONE STANDARD! The standard is Jesus. He gave us Ministry Gifts in Ephesians 4 that have been given to us for specific purposes-

• For the perfecting of the saints
• To equip and release the saints into the work of the ministry
• For the edifying of the body of Christ

They have been put into place until we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ as seen in Ephesians 4:13.

The word Measure is Metron, which is a literal measure  such as a meter, or a degree.
The word Stature is Helikia, which means maturity such as in years or size, sometimes translated as age. 
The word Fulness is Pleroma, describing something filled up, copiousness, completion, multitude and fulfilling.

Christ of course is Christos… the Messiah… the anointed one and His anointing and God’s desire is that you can become like that perfect man who measures up in all those aspects.

It has been my pleasure to present this to you with the hope that you press into God and that you get to know the one who is both hidden and revealed in scripture—the Lord Jesus Christ. Ask Him now to make everything new in your life and to help you qualify. He is waiting!

Amen.