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Epistles of Ignatius
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Chapter 3: The True Teaching About Christ.
BE AWARE THAT BY ALL MEANS YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT JESUS THE LORD WAS TRULY BORN OF MARY: made from a woman, and was truly crucified. For, as it is said, “God forbid that I should boast, except in the cross of the Lord Jesus.” And He truly suffered, died, and rose again. As [Paul] says, “If Christ has indeed suffered and was the first to rise from the dead.” And again, “In that He died, He died to sin once, but in that He lives, He lives to God.” Otherwise, what would have been the point of enduring captivity if Christ had not died? What is the value of patience, or of bearing stripes? And why do events like the following matter: Peter was crucified; Paul and James were killed by the sword; John was exiled to Patmos; Stephen was stoned to death by the Jews who killed the Lord? But, in truth, none of these sufferings were in vain, for the Lord was truly crucified by the ungodly.