know that in this fountaine welspring that is one thing which the bodily senses may touch and perceiue and therefore it is changeable and corruptible and againe that there is another thing in it which onely faith can beholde and that therefore it cannot be corrupted nor come into danger of decay Wherfore if a man would demand What that is which outwardly washeth the body I answere that it is nothing but the element but if a man would consider that which inwardly purgeth I say that it is a liuely vertue yea a vertue that is able to sanctifie yea a vertue and power that giueth immortalitie Therefore the water in Baptisme is in it owne propertie a corruptible humor or liquor but in mystery and spirituall meaning a wholesome and healthfull power And even so verily the body and blood of Christ being outwardly considered is a creature subiect to change and corruption and yet if a man consider the vertue and power of the mysterie it is life in deed giving immortalitie to such as be partakers thereof Therefore the things that are seene and the things that are beleeved are not all one For in respect that they are seene they feede the corruptible bodie they themselues being corruptible but in respect that they are beleeved they feed our immortall soules which shall liue for ever they themselues being also immortall The Apostle writing to the Corinthians sayth Know ye not 1 Cor. 10.1.2 c. that all our Fathers were vnder the cloud and all passed through the Sea and were all Baptised vnto Moses in the Cloud and in the Sea and did all eate the same spirituall meat and did all drink the same spirituall drink for they drunke of the spirituall Rocke that followed them and that rocke was Christ Hence we perceiue that the Sea and the Cloud both did shewe forth the kinde and figure of Baptisme and that the Fathers of the former Testament were Baptised in them that is in the Cloud and in the Sea Could the Sea as it was seene and thought to be an element haue in it the power and force of Baptisme or could the Cloud as it shewed forth the grosenes of some very thicke ayre sanctifie the people No verily And yet we dare not sith the Apostle spake in Christs name say that he spake not truely when he said That our Fathers were baptised in the Cloud and in the sea And although that Baptisme did shew forth and set out the forme of Christs Baptisme which at this day is vsed ministred in the Church yet no wise man dare deny vnlesse like a mad man he will presume to gainesay the Apostles words but that it was Baptisme and that our Fathers were therein and thereby Baptised Wherefore neither the Sea nor the Cloud in respect that they were bodily substances did shew forth or giue out the cleannesse of sanctification but in respect that they did invisibly conteine the sanctification of the holy Ghost For there was in them that is in the Sea and in the Cloud both a visible forme which appeared to the bodily senses and that not in an image or shew but in veritie or truth inwardly there shined forth in them a spirituall power which appeared not to the eyes of flesh but to the sight light of the minde or soule In like sort the Manna that was given to the people from heaven and the water also that flowed out of the Rocke were corporall and bodily substances and did corporally both feede the people and giue them drinke also and yet the Apostle calleth that Manna spirituall meat and that Water spirituall drinke And why doth he that Because there was in these bodily substances a spirituall power of the word which did feede and giue drinke rather to the minds then to the bodies of the beleevers And though that meate and that drinke did but shewe forth the mysterie of that bodie and blood of Christ which was to come which mysterie the Church doth at this day celebrate and administer yet the holy Apostle S. Paul affirmeth that our Fathers did eate the same spirituall meate 1 Cor. 10.3.4 and did drinke the same spirituall drinke A man will perhaps aske What he meaneth by this word the same I answere that he meaneth the very selfe same thing which the beleeving people doe at this day eate and drinke in the Church of Christ For wee may not vnderstand divers things thereby because it is one and the selfe same Christ who with his owne flesh fed in the Wildernesse the people that was Baptised in the Cloud and in the sea and then made them to drinke of his blood and that doth now in his Church feede the beleeving people with the Bread of his body and make them to drinke of the water of his blood Which thing the Apostle minding to declare after that he had said That our Fathers did eate the same spirituall meate 1 Cor. 10.4 and did drinke the same spirituall drinke he presently added For they dranke of the spirituall Rocke that followed them and that Rocke was Christ And this he doth that so wee might vnderstand that Christ was in the spirituall Rocke in the Wildernes and gaue vnto the people there the water of his blood which Christ afterwards offred even to the people of our age that bodie that he tooke of the Virgin and was hanged vpon the Crosse for the salvation of the beleevers from which bodie also he powred forth great abundanc of his blood by which we should not onely be redeemed but also made drinke thereof This verily is a wonderfull matter seeing that Christ being incomprehensible inestimable had not as yet takē vnto him mans nature nor tasted death for the salvation of the world nor had redeemed vs by his blood yet that our Fathers did in the Wildernesse by spirituall meate and invisible drinke eate his body and drinke his blood as the Apostle is a witnesse saying That our Fathers did eate the same spirituall meate and did drinke the same spirituall drinke Wee must not here seeke out our own reason or way by which this might bee performed but faith must be vsed if wee will know what was done For he that now in the Church doth by his Allmightie power spiritually turne the Bread into the flesh of his bodie and the wine into the Water as it were of his owne blood he then also invisibly made the Manna that was given from heaven to become his owne bodie and caused the water springing or flowing out of the Rocke to become his owne blood Psal 78.25 Which thing when David did well perceiue he by the holy Ghost protested and plainely affirmed saying Man did eate the bread of Angels For it were a fond thing to thinke that that bodily Manna which was given to the Fathers should feede the heavenly armies and multitudes of Angels or that they doe eate any such meate who are fed and fatted as it
Christs bodie but it is not his body bodily and it is Christs blood but yet it is not his blood bodily Also afterwardes the same Father saith Amb. eodem loco 1 Cor. 10.3.4 Wherevpon the Apostle speaking of the figure of Christ saith that our Fathers did eate the same spirituall meate and did drinke the same spirituall drinke For the Lords bodie is a spirituall bodie and the body of Christ is the body of the divine spirit For Christ is a spirit as we reade in the Lamentations of Ieremie Christ the Lord is a spirit before our face He hath most plainely taught vs how we should vnderstand the mystery of the body and blood of Christ For when he had said that our Fathers did eate spirituall meate and did drinke spirituall drinke whereas notwithstanding there is none that doubteth but that the Manna which they did eate and the water which they did drinke were bodily things he addeth cōcerning the mysterie which is now administred in the Church shewing and determining in what respect it is Christes bodie For the Lords bodie sayth he is a spirituall body Christ also is indeed God and the body which he tooke of the Virgin Mary the bodie that suffered that was buried that rose againe was certainely a very and true bodie and the same also remained visible and palpable that is to say might be seene and felt but that body which is called the mysterie of God is not bodily but spirituall and if it be spirituall then is it not visible or palpable that is it cannot be seene or felt Herevpon blessed Ambrose addeth saying The body of Christ is the body of the divine spirit Now the divine spirit is not any thing that is bodily is not any thing that is corruptible or any thing that is palpable and may be felt But this body which is celebrated and administred in the Church is in respect of the visible kinde and forme both corruptible and palpable Tell me then how it can be said to be the body of the divine spirit Verily no other way than in this respect that it is spirituall that is to say in this respect that it cannot be seene or felt therefore incorruptible To this very end Amb. eodem loco in the words following he addeth saying Because Christ is a spirit as we reade Christ the Lord is a spirit before our face By which words he plainly sheweth in what respect it may be counted Christs body to wit in respect that there is in it the spirit of Christ that is to say the power of the divine or heavenly word which doth not onely feede the soule but also purge it and make it cleane Wherefore the same Author saith afterward To conclude this meate strengtheneth our hearts and this drinke maketh mans heart merry and ioyfull Psal 104.5 as the Prophet saith It cannot be denied but that bodily meate doth after a sort strengthen mans heart and bodily drinke make his heart merry But that the Doctor might shew what meate it is and what drinke it is of which he speaketh he hath plainely and particularly added this meate and this drinke What meate doth he meane or what drinke Forsooth Christs body the body of the divine spirit and that it might be the more plainely vttered he saith Christ is a spirit of whom it is read Christ the Lord is a spirit before our face By all these places and speeches it plainely appeareth that we ought not or cannot take or perceiue any thing bodily in this meate in this drinke but that the whole matter must be cōsidered and weighed spiritually For the soule which in the place presently alledged is meant by the heart of man is not fed with bodily meate or bodily drinke but it is nourished quickned and made strong with the Word of God Ambr. sacra lib. 5. Which thing the selfe same Doctor affirmeth more plainely in his fifth Booke of Sacraments Not this Bread saith he which goeth into our bodies but it is that bread of eternall life which ministreth and yeeldeth substance vnto our soules And the things following in that booke or place doe most manifestly declare that S. Ambrose spake not this of the common bread but of the bread of Christs bodie for he speaketh of that daily bread which the faithfull desire might be given them and therefore he addeth If it be daily bread why doest thou receiue it but once in a yeare as the Grecians which dwell in the East are wont to doe Wherefore receiue that daily which may daily profit thee and liue so that thou maiest be found meete and worthy daily to receiue it Wherefore it is manifest of what bread he speaketh to wit of the bread of the body of Christ which sustaineth and vpholdeth the substance of the soule not in respect as it goeth and entreth into the bodie but in respect as it is Bread of everlasting life Thus you see that by the authoritie of this most learned man wee are taught that that bodie in which Christ suffered and that blood which hanging vpon the Crosse he shed out of his side doth very much differ from that body which the faithfull doe daily celebrate and receiue in the mysterie of Christs passion and from that blood which is received by the mouth of the beleevers seeing it is but a mysterie of that blood in and by which the whole world was Redeemed For this Bread and this Wine are not Christs bodie and blood in respect that they are to be seene bodily but in respect that they doe spiritually minister and yeeld vnto vs the substance of life And as for that bodie wherein Christ suffered once for all it shewed forth no other kinde or forme than that in which it consisted and was For it was truely and indeed the very selfe same which it was when it was seene which it was when it was touched which it was when it was crucified which it was when it was buried In like sort the blood that did gush and flow out of his side did not appeare one thing outwardly and cover or shaddow another thing inwardly Wherefore the very blood of Christ did flow from his very and true body but now the blood of Christ which the faithfull drinke vp and his body which they eate are one thing in kind and forme and another thing in sigfication They are one thing in that they feed the body with bodily meat and another thing in that they fat and feed the soules and mindes of men with the substance of eternall life Of this thing Saint Hierom Hieronim in epist ad Eph. in his Commentary vpon Pauls Epistle to the Ephesians writeth thus The blood and flesh of Christ is vnderstood two manner of wayes Ioh. 6.55 For either it is that spirirituall and divine flesh and blood of which he himselfe saith my flesh is meat indeed and my blood is drinke indeed or else it is put for that
were Sacraments and are diverse or differing one of them from another in respect of their signes but are equall and like yea all one in the matter that is signified by them Hearken what the Apostle Paul saith 1 Cor. 10.1.2 c. I would not haue you ignorant brethren that all our Fathers were vnder the Clowd and that all passed through the Sea and were all baptised vnto Moses in the Clowd and in the Sea and did all eate the same spirituall meate and did all drinke the same spirituall drinke Verily they had the same spirituall both meate and drinke but another bodily both meate and drinke for they had Manna and we another thing and yet they had the same spirituall thing that we haue And the Apostle addeth and they did all drinke the same spirituall drinke They drunke one thing and wee another but that was in respect of visible kinde or forme and yet they both signified one thing by spirituall power For how otherwise could it be the same drinke They drank saith he of the spirituall rock that followed them and the rocke was Christ From thence came the bread from thence came the drinke The rocke was Christ in sign figure but the very true Christ is in word and in flesh Againe Aug. tract eodem in the same place This is the bread that came downe from heaven so that whosoever shall eate of it shall not dye but yet hee must eate that which appertaineth to the vertue and power of the Sacrament and not that onely which appertaineth to the visible Sacrament And such a one is hee as eateth inwardly and not outwardly only and as eateth the same in his heart through faith and not that pearceth or presseth it with his teeth And in another place of his saide Exposition vpon Iohn bringing in our Saviours words hee speaketh thus Aug. in Ioh. tract 27. Doth this offend you that I said behold I giue you my flesh to eate and my blood to drinke What then if ye shall see the Sonne of man ascend vp where he was before What meaneth this Doth hee by this speech loose that which moved them Doth hee by so saying open that wherewith they were offended Yea verily and that fully also if they could haue vnderstood it For they thought that he would haue given his body but hee said that hee would goe vp into heaven and that whole as he was as though he should say When yee shall see the Sonne of man ascending vp where hee was before at the least even then yee shall know that hee will not giue his body after such a manner and fashion as you imagine and fantasie yea and even then also yee shall vnderstand that his grace is not consumed or eaten vp by bytings and morsels For the Lord himselfe saith It is the spirit that quickeneth the flesh profiteth nothing And after that hee had vttered many words and sentences hee againe addeth Aug. tract eodem Rom. 8.9 Whosoever saith the Apostle hath not the spirit of Christ the same is none of his Wherefore it is the spirit that quickneth the flesh profiteth nothing The words that I haue spoken vnto you are spirit and life What meaneth this that they are spirit and life That is to say they must be spiritually vnderstood Hast thou vnderstood them spiritually then are they spirit and life to thee Hast thou vnderstood them carnally yea even so are they spirit and life but not vnto thee By the authority of this Doctor handling the Lords words concerning the Sacrament of his body and blood wee are plainely taught that those words of the Lord must bee vnderstood spiritually and not carnally even as himselfe saith Ioh. 6.63 The words which I speake vnto you are spirit and life yea even those words verily which hee spake concerning the eating of his flesh and the drinking of his blood For he speaketh of those words wherewith his Disciples were offended Wherefore to the end they might not be offended the heavenly Master or Teacher calleth them back frō the flesh to the spirit and from bodily sight to invisible vnderstanding We see therefore in what respect that meat of the Lords body and that drinke of his blood are truly and indeed his bodie and truly and indeed his blood to wit in respect that they are spirit and life Moreover such things as bee all one are contained in or vnder one definition Now it is affirmed of the very and true body of Christ that hee is very God and very man God as hee was begotten of the father from before all beginnings and man as hee was towards the end of the world conceived and borne of the Virgine Mary But these things cannot bee said of that body of Christ which by a mystery is celebrated and administred in the Church and yet it is after a certaine manner knowne to bee Christs body now that manner is in figure and representation that so the truth and the thing it selfe may bee the better perceived In these prayers which are sayd after the mystery of the body and blood of Christ and whereunto the people answer Amen thus it is vttered with the Priests voyce Wee that doe take or receiue the pledge of everlasting life doe humbly beseech thee to grant that we may with a manifest and plaine partaking receiue that which we touch in the image or representation of the Sacrament Now wee know that a pledge and an image or representation appertaine to another thing that is to say haue respect not to themselues but to another thing For a pledge is a pledge of that thing for the pledging whereof it is given and not the thing it selfe as likewise an image is the image of that thing the likenesse whereof it doth represent or shew forth For these things doe signifie the thing it selfe whose picture and pledge they are and yet for all that they doe not very manifestly declare the things themselues Which seeing it is so it plainely appeareth that this body and blood are the pledge and as it were the picture or representation of a thing that shall be to the end that that which is now shewed by a similitude may in time hereafter to come be by manifestation or manifestly revealed Wherevpon I conclude that if now they signifie and in time to come shall make manifest or lay open that then that is one thing which is done and performed now and that that is another thing which shall in time to come be manifested and layd open Wherefore that which the Church celebrateth and administreth is both the body and blood of Christ but yet as a pledge and as it were the picture or representation But then it shall be the truth when as now not the pledge nor the picture or representation of the thing shall appeare but the truth of the thing it selfe Also in another place of the sayde prayers We beseech thee Lord to graunt that thy
were with the dainties of Gods word here on earth I mean men Verily the Psalmist or rather the holy Ghost in the Psalmist sheweth either what our fathers received in that heavenly Manna or els what the faithfull people should beleeue to be in the mysterie of Christs bodie In both of them certainely Christ is signified and set forth which Christ both feedeth the soules of the beleevers and is the food and meate of Angels and yet neither of them are done in corporall taste or bodily feeding but by the power of the spirituall word And wee know because the Evangelist hath declared the same that the Lord Iesus Christ before he suffered Tooke Bread and gaue thankes Mat. 26.26 c. 1 Cor. 11.23 c. and gaue it to his Disciples saying This is my bodie which is given for you doe this in remembrance of me Likewise he tooke the Cup after he had supped saying This Cup is the New Testament in my blood which shall be shed for you We see that Christ had not as yet suffered and yet for all that he wrought or made the mysterie of his body and blood for wee thinke truely that any faithfull man doubteth whether that Bread became Christs bodie which he gaue vnto his Disciples and said This is my bodie which is given for you or whether the cup conteineth Christes blood of which cup our Saviour Christ himselfe saide This cup is the New Testament in my blood which shall be shed for you Therefore as he could even a little before he suffered turne the substance of the Bread and the creature of the Wine into his owne body which should suffer and into his own blood which afterwardes should be shed so likewise was he able in the Wildernesse to turne the Manna and the water that issued out of the Rocke into his owne flesh and blood although that a long time after both his flesh was to be hāged on the crosse for our sakes and his blood to be shed for the washing away of our sinnes Here also wee ought to consider how we must vnderstand that which he himselfe saith Ioh 6.53 Except yee eate the flesh of the Sonne of man and drinke his blood yee shall not haue life in you For hee doth not say or meane that his flesh which afterwards hanged on the Crosse should bee cut in peeces and parts and so be eaten by his Disciples neither yet that his blood which hee should shed for the redemption of the world should bee given vnto his Disciples for drinke because it should be a most wicked and horrible thing for his Disciples either to drinke his blood or to eate his flesh as the vnbeleevers did at that time vnderstand him Therefore in the words following he said to his Disciples who did not vnbeleevingly but in some measure of faith receiue Christs wordes although they could not as then pierce and perceiue how those wordes were to bee vnderstood to them I say he said Doth this offend you Ioh. 6.61.62 What then if yee should see the Sonne of man ascend vp where he was before As though he should say Thinke not I pray you that you must either bodily eate my flesh or bodily drinke my blood or that my body must bee divided into parts to be eaten or my blood distributed to be drunke seeing that after my resurrection yee shall see mee to goe vp into heaven with the fulnesse of my whole body and blood and then shall ye vnderstand that my very flesh shall not be eaten of the beleevers as the infidels suppose but that the bread and the wine being turned into the substance of my body and of my blood the substance thereof shall bee in a mystery received by the beleevers And presently he addeth Ioh. 6.63 The spirit is it saith hee which quickeneth the flesh profiteth nothing He saith that the flesh profiteth nothing at all after such a forme and manner as the vnbeleevers vnderstood it otherwise it giveth life as the faithfull do in a mystery receiue it And why this is done he himselfe doth manifestly declare when hee saith It is the spirit that quickeneth Wherefore there is in this mysterie of the body and blood of Christ a spirituall opperation and working that giveth life without the working whereof these mysteries profit nothing at all because they may indeed feed the bodie but they cannot feed the soule Now then heere ariseth a question which while many propound they say and affirme that these things are done not in a figure or mystery but in verity and truth Which while they affirme they are found to goe against and to gaine-say the writings of the holy Fathers Saint Augustine Aug. de doct Christ lib. 3. one of the chiefe Doctors of the Church in his third booke of Christian doctrine writeth thus Ioh. 6.53 Except ye eate saith our Saviour the flesh of the Sonne of man and drinke his blood yee shall not haue life in you Hee seemeth to command a wicked thing and an vngodly act Wherefore it is a figuratiue speech commanding vs to communicate in the Lords passion and sweetly and profitably to lay vp this in our memories that his flesh was crucified and wounded for our sakes Here we perceiue that this Doctor saith and affirmeth that the mysteries of the bodie blood of Christ are vnder a figure celebrated and received of the faithfull for hee saith plainely that it belongeth not to religion but is rather a wicked thing carnally to eate Christs body or to drink his blood into which fault they fell who not spiritually but fleshly vnderstanding the Lords words in the Gospell Ioh. 6.66 Departed or went backe from him and went or walked no more with him The same Doctor writing in a certaine Epistle to Boniface the Bishop Aug. ad Bonifa epist amongst other things saith thus Truly we vse oftentimes to speak thus that when Easter draweth nigh that to morrow or the next day after shall be the Lords passion whereas hee suffered so many yeares before and verily that passion or suffering was done but once for all Also on the Lords day that wee call Easter day wee vsually say this day the Lord rose againe whereas indeed and truth so many yeares are since he rose againe already past And why is no man so fond and foolish as to reproue vs speaking thus as though we had lyed but onely because wee name those dayes according to the similitude and likenesse of these dayes in which these things were done Insomuch that it is called the very same day which yet is not in deed the very same but in the revolution and turning about of the time is like it and so also that is said to be done vpon that day by reason of the celebration and administration of the Sacrament which is not done vpon that day but was performed long agoe Was not Christ once offered about that time And yet notwithstanding hee
flesh which was crucified and for that blood which was shed with the souldiers speare This Doctor hath made a distinction concerning the body and blood of Christ and this he hath done with a very great difference For whilest that hee saith that the flesh and blood which the faithfull doe daily receiue are spirituall things and saith on the other side that the flesh which was crucified and the blood which was shed with the souldiers speare cannot bee affirmed to be spirituall or divine hee plainely declareth that they differ so much as spirituall and corporall things or visible and invisible things or as divine and humane doe differ one of them from another and that therefore for as much as they differ one of them from another both of them bee not neither indeed can bee one and the selfe same thing Now that spirituall flesh which is received by the mouth of the faithfull and that spirituall blood which is daily offered to bee drunke of the beleevers doe without doubt differ from that flesh which was crucified frō that blood which was shed by the souldiers speare as the authority of this present person alledged doth witnesse Wherefore they bee not all one For that flesh that was crucified was made of the flesh of the Virgin and was compacted or did consist of bones and sinewes and was besides distincted by the lineaments and proportions of the parts and members of mens bodies and was through the spirit of a reasonable soule quickned into his owne life and fit motions agreeing thereto But the spirituall flesh which doth spiritually feed the beleeving people in respect of the kind or forme which it sheweth forth outwardly doth being made by the Artificers hand consist of certaine graines of Corne or wheat and is not compacted of any sinewes or bones nor distincted by any diversity of members nor made liuely by any reasonable substance nor able to exercise any proper motitions for whatsoever in it doth minister or yeeld the substance of life pertaineth to a spirituall power and belongeth to an invisible efficacy and to a heavenly vertue or force but is indeed in respect of that which is outwardly seene farre differing from that which is beleeved in the mystery Besides that flesh of Christ which was crucified did not shew any other thing outwardly then that it was inwardly because it was the very flesh of a very man being also a very body in the kinde and forme of a very body Furthermore wee must consider that there is figured by that bread not onely Christs owne body but also the body of the people that beleeue in him whereupon it is made of many graines of wheate 1 Cor. 16.17 because the bodie of the beleeving people is through the Word of Christ increased with many faithfull ones Wherefore as the bread which is Christs body is received in a mystery so also the members of the people that beleeue in Christ are declared in a mystery And as that bread is said to bee the bodie of the beleevers not bodily but spiritually so must wee needs vnderstand it to bee Christs bodie not bodily but spiritually So likewise in the wine which is called Christs blood water is appointed to be mixed and the one is not suffred to be offred without the other to declare that the people cannot bee without Christ nor Christ without his people even as the head cannot bee without the body nor the body without the head Wherefore the water in that Sacrament beareth the image of people and representeth them Therefore if that wine being sanctified by the office and service of the Ministers be turned bodily into Christs blood the water which is mixed together with it must of necessity bee bodily turned into the blood of the beleeving people For where there is but one sanctification and by consequent one operation or working yea where there is but a like consideration it must needs then there follow that that mystery is like But we see that in the water in respect of the body thereof there is nothing turned wherefore it followeth very well that in the wine there is nothing turned bodily Whatsoever is set out in the water concerning the body of the people the same is taken spiritually Wherefore whatsoever is shewed foorth in the wine concerning Christs blood the same must of necessity be taken spiritually Againe the things which doe differ one of them from another be not all one That body of Christ which died and rose againe and became immortall Rom. 6.9 dieth not now neither shall death any more now beare rule ouer it for it is eternall and cannot now suffer any thing But that which is celebrated and administred in the Church is temporall and not eternall is corruptible not incoruptible is in the way homeward and not in it owne countrey Wherefore they must needs differ one of them from another and so by consequent are not all one and if they be not all one how is it said to bee Christs true body and his very blood For if it be Christs body and be truly so said to be as if it be Christs body it must bee his body in truth and if it be Christs body in truth or truly then it must needs bee that bodie of Christs which is incorruptible and impasible and so by consequent eternall Whereupon also it must of necessity follow that that bodie of Christs which is celebrated and administred in the Church must be incorruptible and eternall but we cannot deny but that that thing is corruptible which being changed is diuided into peeces to bee received and being broken or ground with the teeth passeth into the body and belly And yet that is one thing which is done outwardly and that is another thing which is inwardly beleeved through faith That which belongeth to the senses of the body is corruptible but that which faith beleeveth is incorruptible Wherefore that which appeares outwardly is not the thing it selfe but the image or representation of the thing but that is the truth of the thing and the thing it selfe which is perceived vnderstood by the minde Hereupon blessed Augustine in his Exposition vpon Iohns Gospell speaking of the body and blood of Christ saith thus Moses also did eate Manna Aug. in Ioh. tract 26. so did Aaron and so did Phiwees yea many others did eate Manna in the Wildernesse who also pleased God and yet are not dead And why so because they did spiritually vnderstand the visible food they did spiritually hunger after it they did spiritually taste it that so they might bee spiritually satisfied and filled For even wee also our selues doe at this day receiue visible food but the Sacrament is one thing and the vertue or power of the Sacrament is another thing Likewise in the words following Aug. tract eodem This is the bread which came downe from heaven Manna signified this bread the altar of God also signified this bread They
this mysterie take and vnderstand nothing according to the hidden power that lyeth within but iudge of the whole according to that which visibly and outwardly appeareth I would faine haue these men I say to tell me in what respect the change is made in this mysterie If they will say that it is made in respect of the substance of the creatures I answere that that cannot be so for in respect of the substance of the creatures look whatsoever they were before consecration they are even the same afterwards but they were Bread and Wine before and therefore they remaine the same which is proved because we see that even when they are consecrated they remaine in the same kinde and forme Wherefore that which our faith looketh vpon is changed inwardly by the almightie power of the holy Ghost and is it that which feedeth the soule and ministreth or yeeldeth the substance of eternall life Againe the same Doctor a little after saith Why doest thou here Amb. loco supra citato in the mysterie of Christs bodie seeke for the order of nature seeing that he being the Lord God himselfe was beside and without the course of nature borne of a Virgin Obiect Here the hearer scholler or learner riseth vp and saith That that is Christs body which is seene and that that is his blood which is drunke and that wee must not inquire how it is made or become his body but beleeue hold that so it is become his body Answ I answere Thou imaginest and supposest that thou thinkest well but if thou diligently looke into the nature force of the words thou shalt see thou sayest nothing For thou affirmest both that Christs body is seene and his blood drunke and also that thou doest faithfully beleeue it to be Christs bodie and blood but I say that these speeches cannot stand together because if thou doest beleeue it thou doest not yet see it 2 Cor. 5.7 for we walke by faith and not by sight And againe if thou seest it thou shouldest say I see it to be Christs very body and blood and shouldest not say I beleeue it to be Christs body and blood But for as much as faith beholdeth that whole thing whatsoever that whole thing it selfe be and the eye of flesh apprehendeth or laieth hold of nothing the scholler or learned shall vnderstand which is also the Doctors meaning that those things which are seene are the body blood of Christ nor in kinde and forme but in vertue and power wherevpon also he saith that we must not in this matter consider or behold the order of nature but reverence and esteeme the high power of Christ which maketh every thing as he will how he will into what he will and createth that which was not and being created changeth it into that which it was not before The same Author addeth Verily Amb. loco eodem that is the true flesh of Christ which was crucified and which was buried and therfore this mysterie must be in deede the Sacrament of that flesh which thing the Lord himselfe publisheth proclaimeth saying This is my body O how diligently and how wisely is this distinction and difference made Of the flesh of Christ which was crucified and which was buried according vnto which also Christ himselfe was both crucified buried the Doctor saith that it is the very and true flesh of Christ but of that which is received in the Sacrament he sayth It is indeed the Sacrament of that true flesh By these words distinguishing the Sacrament of his flesh from the truth of his flesh or very flesh in as much as in respect of the truth of that flesh which he tooke of the Virgin he said that he was both crucified and buried And wheras he said that the mystery which is at this day celebrated in the church is the sacrament of that very and true flesh in which Christ was crucified he doth plainely instruct and teach the faithfull people that that flesh in which Christ was both crucified and buried is not a mystery or Sacrament but the truth of nature and on the other side he teacheth them that this flesh which now in a mysterie doth containe the likenesse of that flesh is not that flesh in kinde or forme but in a Sacrament for in kinde and forme it is Bread but in a Sacrament it is Christs very true bodie Mat. 26.26 Ambr. loco citat as the Lord Iesus himselfe affirmeth saying This is my body And the same Doctor in the words following saith Mat. 6.31 What these words should meane mentioned in Matthew what shall we eate or what shall wee drinke the holy Ghost hath in another place and after another sort expressed by his Prophet saying Taste yee and see Psal 34.8 how gracious the Lord is blessed is the man that trusteth in him Doth that same Bread thinke you being tasted bodily or that same Wine being drunke corporally declare and shewe forth how sweet the Lord is No verily for whatsoever it savoureth it is bodily and delighteth onely the palate and throate Shall we thinke that this is to taste the Lord to wit to feele and savour some bodily thing No verily for the spirituall tasting and savouring of the Lord stirreth vs vp to haue little or no regard yea to be voyde as it were of bodily savouring and in that Bread and in that drinke to imagine or thinke of nothing corporally but to feele and perceiue the whole spiritually because the Lord is a spirit Ioh. 4.24 and blessed is the man that trusteth in him And againe afterwards he saith thus Christ is in that Sacrament Amb. loco eodem because it is the body of Christ wherefore it is not bodily meate but spirituall foode What could be spoken more plainely more manifestly or more heavenly for he saith Christ is in that Sacrament and yet he saith not that that Bread and that Wine is Christ which if he should say he should set forth Christ as though he were corruptible and subiect to mortalitie which be it farre from vs to thinke much more to speake for it is certaine that whatsoever in that meate is either bodily seene or bodily tasted all that is subiect to corruption The Doctor addeth these words Because it is the body of Christ But perhaps here some man will stand vp and say Behold he manifestly and plainly confesseth that that Bread and that Wine is Christes body But withall marke I pray thee how presently he addeth That it is not bodily meate but spirituall foode Bring not with you therefore the sense and feeling of the flesh for by that nothing either is or can be perceived in this mystery It is indeed Christs body howbeit not his bodily bodie but his spirituall body It is Christs blood but not his bodily blood but his spirituall blood Wherfore nothing here is to be iudged felt or perceived bodily but spiritually It is
How then is the bread his body and the cup or that which is contained in the cup how is it his blood These things good brethren are therefore called Sacraments because one thing is seene in them and another thing vnderstood that which is seene hath a bodily kinde forme and shew but that which is vnderstood hath spirituall fruit The reverend Authour in speaking these things instructeth vs what wee ought to thinke and hold both concerning the Lords owne bodie which was borne of the Virgin Mary and sitteth now at the right hand of GOD and in which he shall come to judge the quicke and the dead and also concerning that body which is set on the Altar and whereof the people are partakers That body is sound and whole and is not divided by any cutting neither covered with any figures but this bodie which is set vpon the Lords Table is both a figure because it is a Sacrament and also as it is outwardly seene hath a bodily kinde and forme that feedeth the body but as it is inwardly vnderstood it hath a spirituall fruit which quickeneth the soule Aug. de sacra altar Serm. 1 Cor. 12.27 And the same Doctor minding to speake somewhat more plainely and manifestly of this mysticall body in the words following saith thus If yee will therefore vnderstand what Christes body meanes heare the Apostles saying Yee are the body of Christ and members for your part If then yee be the bodie of Christ and members for your part your mysterie is set on the Lords Table and yee receiue the mystery of the Lord. You answere Amen to that thing which you your selues be and by so answering you subscribe and consent to the same Thou hearest then Christes body and thou answerest Amen be a member of the body of Christ that so thy Amen may be true and right But wherefore is this done in bread In this matter we will bring forth nothing of our owne devise let vs rather heare the Apostle himselfe vtter his minde when speaking of this Sacrament he sayth we that are many are one bread 1 Cor. 10.17 and one body c. This holy man Augustine doth sufficiently instruct vs that as Christes bodie is signified by the Bread which is set vpon the Altar so also there is thereby signified by the bodie of the people that receiveth it manifestly thereby declaring that that is Christes proper or owne body in which he was borne of the Virgin in which he sucked in which he suffered in which be died in which he was buried in which he rose againe in which he ascended into Heaven in which he sitteth at the right hand of the Father and in which he shall come to judge the quicke and the dead Whereas that which is set vpon the Lords Table conteineth the mysterie of the other even as it doth likewise containe the mysterie of the beleeving people the Apostle himselfe witnessing the same and saying Wee that are many are one bread 1 Cor. 10.17 and one body in Christ. Your wisdome most noble Prince may perceiue and vnderstand that I haue both by the testimonies of the sacred Scriptures and by the sayings of the holy Fathers faithfully alledged and layd downe most evidently declared and plainely prooved that that bread which is called Christs bodie and that cup which is called Christs blood is a figure because it is a mystery and also that there is no small difference betweene that his body which is so in a mystery and that his body which sufferâ—â— and was buried and rose againe because in that was the very proper bodie of our Saviour neither was there in it any figure or or signification but the manifestation and plainenesse of the thing it selfe was knowne as also the beleevers at this day doe desire the sight thereof for that is our head and when wee see it Ioh. 10.30 our desire shall be satisfied for he and the Father are one not in respect that our Saviour hath a body but in respect of the fulnesse of the godhead Col. 2.9 which dwelt in Christ as hee was man Whereas in this which is celebrated and administred by a mystery there is a figure not onely of Christs owne body but also of the body of the people that beleeue in Christ for it beareth the figure of both the bodies that is to say both of Christ bodie which suffered and rose again and of the people that are in Christ through Baptisme borne againe and quickened from the dead Hereunto let vs adde also that this bread and this cup which is called the body and blood of Christ doth lieuely represent or set out the remembrance of the Lords passion or death even as hee himselfe hath sayd in the Gospell Luk. 22.19 Doe ye this in remembrance of mee which the Apostle Paul expounding saith 1 Cor. 11.26 So often as yee shall eate of this bread and drinke of this cup yee shall shew forth the Lords death till hee come Here we are taught by our Saviour by the holy Apostle Saint Paul that that bread and that wine which is set on the Altar is there set for a figure or remembrance of the Lords death to the end it might call back to our remembrance that which hath beene done in time past that so wee being made mindefull of that his passion might by it be made partakers of Gods gifts and graces by which also wee are delivered from death knowing this that when wee shall come to the sight and beholding of Christ we shall haue no need of such instruments and meanes thereby to be put in remembrance what his vnmeasurable and infinite goodnesse hath endured for vs the reason is because that When wee shall behold him face to face 1 Cor. 13.12 wee shall be put in minde not by any outward admonition of temporall things but we shall behold him in the very contemplation and sight of the truth it selfe and to be instructed how we ought to giue thanks to the author of our saluation And yet I would haue no man thinke that because wee speake thus that therefore the faithfull doe not in the mystery of the Sacrament receiue the Lords body and blood because faith receiveth that thing not which the eye seeth but that which the hart beleeveth for it is a spirituall meate and a spirituall drinke spiritually feeding the soule and giving the life of everlasting fulnesse even as our Saviour himselfe commending and setting out this mystery saith Ioh. 6.63 It is the spirit that quickeneth the flesh profiteth nothing Thus I being a man of very small gifts and desiring to yeeld obedience vnto your Excellencies commandement haue presumed and vndertaken to dispute or reason of no small matters wherein I haue not followed the presumption of mine owne thinking or iudgement but regarded rather the authority of the ancient Fathers which if your Highnes shall allow as spoken Catholikely Christianly impute it I pray you to the deserts and worthinesse of your owne zeale and religion which was not ashamed having for a while layd aside the glory of your Kingly magnificence to demand an answer concerning the truth of such a poore and base person as I am But if happily these things shall not please and delight you ascribe it vnto my folly and vnskilfulnesse which could not effectually declare that which your Highnesse wished and I my selfe greatly desired Here endeth Bertrams Booke concerning the Body and Blood of the Lord. Errata IN the Epistle Whether he spurious reade whether he be spurious In the Preface next following PAge 2. Charlemayne the Great reade Charles the Great Page 7. Trithenius reade Trithemius Page 9. Sendeth greeting reade send greeting In the Booke of Bertram FOl. 5. Outwardly locked vp reade outwardly looked vpon Fol. 9. In colour or in favour reade in colour or in savour