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The Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians (Long Version)
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Chapter 3: Encouragements for Unity.
I DO NOT ISSUE ORDERS TO YOU: as if I were some great person. For though I am bound for His name, I am not yet perfect in Jesus Christ. For now I am beginning to be a disciple, and I speak to you as my fellow servants. For it was necessary for me to be admonished by you in faith, encouragement, patience, and perseverance. But since love does not allow me to be silent about you, I have therefore undertaken first to urge you to work together in accordance with the will of God. For even Jesus Christ does all things according to the will of the Father, as He Himself declares in a certain place, “I always do those things that please Him.” Therefore, it is our duty also to live according to the will of God in Christ, and to imitate Him as Paul did. For, he says, “Be followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.”