true and effectuall communion with Christ Iesus Againe S. Paul saith immediatly after 1. Cor. 10.17 we that are many are one bread and one bodie because we are all partakers of one Bread Againe as often as ye shall eate this Bread 1. Cor. 11.26 and drinke of this cuppe yée shew the Lords death till he come Againe whosoeuer shall eate this Bread and drinke the cuppe of the Lord vnworthely shal be guiltie of the body and blood of the Lord And again let a man therefore examine himself and so let him eate of this bread and drink of â—his cup. Here Saint Paul fiue times callâ—th it bread euen when it is receiued and eaten therfore I conclude that it is bread But here the Papists come in with a craftie cauillation and think they haue found a fine deuise to shift off these plain words of the Apostle they say that saint Paul calleth it bread because it was bread as Aarons rodde being turned into a serpent Exod. 7 1â— and being a serpent is called a rodde Aharons rodde deuoured their roddes I aunswere first that they compare things vtterly vnlike for in the Sacrament there must continue a similitude and agréement betwéene the signe and the thing signified as before out of S. Augustine I declared and therefore the substance of the signe must néeds remaine without which there can bée no such similitude But in this matter there is no such agréement betwéene the rodde and serpent but rather bee cleane contrary and therefore the reason of these two are not alike Secondly I say that because the conuersion of the rodde into a serpent was but temporall for a short time to continue Moses had good cause to call it a rodde because thereunto it was straight wayes to be restored and in the nature of a rod to continue Thirdly let the Papists shew that their bread is so turned into the bodie of Christ as that rodde was into a serpent and then they say something other wayes they proue nothing Lastly I may turne this Argument vpon their owne heads that as Moses called the serpent a rodde when it was not a rodde indéede but a serpent So Christ called the bread his body when it was not indéede naturally his bodie but in substance bread and by his ordinance a sacrament of his bodie And as the Papists will haue Saint Paul to call that bread which they say is not bread so why may not our sauiour Christ call that his bodie which not properly but sacramentally is his body Thus I trust this their cauillation is sufficiently confuted that you plainly perceiue that S. Paul calleth it bread because it is bread The which now Dialog 1 I will proue by the testimonies of the ancient fathers Theodoritus beside that plaine place before alledged where he saith that Christ hath honored the visible signes with the title or name of his bodie blood not chaunging the nature of them but Dialog 2 adding grace to nature hath a more plaine and pregnant place whose words be these Thou art catched in thine owne snares for the mysticall signes after sanctification or consecration leaue not their proper nature but they remaine in their former Substance and figure kind 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. and be visible and tangible as they were before here not only Theodoritus plain words do affirme the nature and substance of bread and wine to remaine after consecratioÌ„ but also the whole drift of the disputation betwéene the true Christian the Eutican heretike tendeth to the same end But if the doctrine of transubstantiation had beene then in the Church receiued it had most fitly serued for the heretiks purpose that as the bread after consecration is turned into Christs body so Christs bodie after the ascention is turned into the deitie and so the heretike reasoneth but the true Christian answereth that he is catched in his own snare for as bread and wine after consecration are not turned into Christs bodie and blood but remaine in substance as they were before so Christs bodie after his ascention is not turned into the deitie but replenished with glorie and immortality Gelasius a Bishop of Rome writing against the same heretike Eutiches that Theodoritus did and vsing the same reason setteth downe the same doctrine in these words Gelasius contra Eurichen Certe Sacramenta c. i. Surely the sacraments of the bodie and blood of Christ which we receiue are a diuine thing and therefore by them wée be made partakers of the diuine nature and yet it ceaseth not to be the substance or nature of bread and wine and indeed an image and similitude of the bodie and blood of Christ is celebrated in the Accion of the mysteries c. Chrisostome also writeth thus Chrisost ad Câ—esarium Monachum Sicut enim antequam sanctificetur panis c. For as before the bread is sanctified we call it bread but when the diuine grace hath sanctified it by the meanes of the priest it is in déed deliuered from the name of bread and is counted worthy of the name of the lords bodie although the nature of bread doe still continue in it and is called not two bodies but one bodie of the son c. Both the words of Gelasius Chrisostome and also the drift of their discourses tending to the same end that Theodoritus doth most plainly shew that after consecration the substance of bread remaineth euen as after Christs assention the substance of his true body continueth or else these reasons taken from the sacrament do not only not make for them but directly against them yea and plainly make for those heretikes whom they by these arguments séeke to confute Origen also saith Panis ille c. Orig. in Matâ—h cap. 15. That bread which is sanctified by the word of God and prayer according to the material substance which it hath goeth into the belly is cast out into the draught but by the prayer which is ioyned to it according to the proportion of faith is made profitable By which it appeareth that it is the substance of bread and not Christs bodie which were blasphemie to affirme that is so cast out Cyprian saith De vnctione Chrismatis Dedit dominus noster c. Our Lord at the table whereat he did participate his last feast with his disciples gaue with his own hands bread wine but vpon the crosse he gaue his bodie to be wounded by the hands of the souldiers August de consecr dist 2. qui mandu Augustine also saith Quod videtur panis est c. That which is séene is bread and the cuppe which our eies also do shew vnto vs c. He saith it is bread and not séemeth or appeareth to be bread August in psal 98. And in another place Spiritualiter intelligite quod loquutus sum Nen hoc corpus quod videtis manducaturi estis c. .i. Spiritually
Fathers did teach touching the two natures of the deitie and humanity in our Sauiour Christ that they are neither to be distracted a sunder and seperated as did Nestorius nor the properties of them to be confounded as did Eutiches but the said properties are to be distinguished Euen so are we to deale in this matter of the sacrament concerning the signe and thing signified that neither they are to be distracted a sunder deuided nor to be confounded â—ogether but to be distinguished The sign which is the bread and wine are things visible and corruptible which wil in short time putrifie Iesus Christ the thing signified is to our outward eyes inuisible and is incorruptible The bread and wine are vpon earth Iesus Christ is in heauen at the right hand of God The bread wine are receiued with our mouthes broken with our téeth and féede our bodies Iesus Christ is fide digerendus saith Tertullian Tertull. de resurrect carnis receiued and eaten by faith féedeth our soules to liue to God eternally The bread and wine are receiued of all both faithfull and vnfaithfull godly and wicked Iesus Christ is onely receiued of them who be faithful Ephes 3. in whose hearts he dwelleth by faith They that do eate the bread and wine do die not onely this outward death but also many die eternally Iohn 9.51 but he that eateth this bread that came downe from heauen which is Iesus Christ himselfe shal liue for euer Thus a difference is to be put betwéene the externall sacrament and Iesus Christ of whom it is a SacrameÌ„t And yet we must not distract seperate altogether Iesus Christ from the sacrament but beléeue that he is truely offered to all and effectually receiued of those that be gods children and haue a true faith which is the very mouth of the soule whereby they eate his flesh drinke his blood as Christ saith Iohn â— 35 I am the bread of life he that commeth to me shall neuer hunger and he that beléeueth in me shall neuer thirst Now I will onely shew briefly the vncertainty of this doctrin of Transubstantiation Lib. 4. dist 11. cap. Si autem and so I will end this discourse Peter Lombard the master of the sentences writeth thus Si autem quaeritur qualis sit illa conuersio an formalis an substantialis vel alterius generis definire noÌ„ sufficio formalem tamen non esse cognosco quia species quae ante fuerant remanent i. If it be asked what kinde of conuersion that is whether formal or substantiall or of any other kind I am not able to define But yet I know that it is not a formal conuersion because that the formes and shewes which were before do still remaine Afterward he addeth some think that it is a substantiall conuersion saying that one substance is so coÌ„uerted into an other substance that the one is essentially made the other to the which sense the fore alledged authorities do séeme to consent But some do not graunt that the substance of bread is at any time made the flesh of Christ Others be graunt that that which was bread or wine after consecration is the body and blood of Christ Some doe say thus that that conuersion is so to be vnderstoode that vnder those accidences vnder which before was the substance of bread and wine after consecration is the substance of the body blood but others haue thought that the substance of bread and wine doe there remaine and that there also is the body and blood of Christ Hitherto the master of all the Popish schoolemen whose booke of Sentences was of such credite and autority with them that it was more read expounded then the holy bible Whereby wée may plainely sée how vncertaine this their doctrine is and what diuers opinions haue bene of it So Gabriel Byell Gab. Biell in exposit Canonis Missae lect 40. an other great scholeman writeth thus Quomodo ibi sit Christi corpus an per conuersionem alicuius in ipsum an sine conuersione incipiat enim corpus Christi cum pane manentibus substantia accidentibus panis non inuenitur expressum in canone Bibliae Vnde de hoc antiquitus fuerunt diuersae opiniones .i. How the body of Christ is there whether by conuersion of some thing into it or without conuersion there beginne to the body of Christ with the bread the substance and accidences of the breade remaining still it is not found expressed in the canon of the bible Whereupon in old time there were diuers opinions hereof And afterward he rehearseth foure Besides this what if Iohn Fisher bishop of Rochester a great patrone of the Pope and his doctrine doe flatly confesse that this presence of Christs body and blood in the sacrament cannot be proued by the scriptures Ioh. Roffens Episc in defentio Regiae assertionis cont captiuit Babilonicam M. Lutheri N. 8. O. Whose words be these Hactenus Mattheus c. Hitherto Matthew who onely maketh mention of the new Testament neither is there any word here set downe whereby it may be prooued that in our masse there is made a true presence of Christs bodie and blood for although Christ made of the breade his flesh and of the wine his blood it doth not therefore follow that we by vertue of any word here set downe can doe the like when we attempt the same Again he saith Non potest per vllam scripturam probari c. It cannot be proued by any scripture that either a layman or priest as often as he attempteth the same can in like manner make of bread and wine the bodie and blood of Christ as Christ himselfe made séeing this is not conteined in the scriptures And again he concludeth this matter thus Ibid. Ex iis opinor c. By these things I suppose euery man perceiueth that the certenty of this matter depeÌ„deth not so much of the gospel as of the vse and custome which so many ages hath bene commended vnto vs from the verie first fathers Héere by the iudgement of Bishop Fisher this doctrine of Transubstantiation and reall presence dependeth not so much vpon the Gospel as vpon custome that it cannot be proued by the Scriptures whereby we may sée how vncertaine it is So that we may say with Tertullian Nihil de eo constat Lib. de carne Christi quia Scriptura non exhibet .i. We know nothing thereof because the Scripture doth not shew it And againe Lib. de monogamia Negat scriptura quod non notat .i. The scripture doth deny that which it doth not expresse wherefore let vs forsake this doubtful doctrine yea this erronious absurd and false doctrin and let vs imbrace the truth before declared let vs not séeke Christ here vpon earth but let vs lift vp our hearts into heauen there by faith eate Christs blessed body that was offred and drinke his
will Isai 58.13 nor speaking a vaine word he must carefully serue God with a pure conscience earnestly loue his holy word and hunger after it as his daily foode He that hath ben an adulterer or fornicator must flée and forsake this filthy sinne 1. Thess 4.4 kéepe the vessell of his body and soule in holinesse and honour not in the lusts of concupiscence as do the Gentiles that know not God And if any come to this holy table like a filthy dogge before he haue bewailed vnfainedly this his wickednesse and if it be open before he haue publikely shewed true tokens of his true repentance and reconciled himself to the Church of God he treadeth vnder his filthy féete the blood of Iesus Christ the sonne of God and eateth and drinketh his owne damnation Those that haue beene dronkards ought to forsake this beastlinesse and liue soberly and temperately in Gods feare or else they in comming to this sacrament prouoke Gods anger and indignation against them and so receiue it to their destruction But it is lamentable to sée what infinite numbers of whoremongers adulterers incestious persons drunkards such other filthy swine without any signe of repentance or satisfaction to the Church of God by them offended doe come and be receiued to the communicating of this holy sacrament Lastly we ought to examine our selues whether we liue in Christian loue and charitie one with an other without which 1. Cor. 13.1 though we speake with the mouth of men and angels and could moue mountaines and did giue all our goods to the poore yea and our bodies to be burned we be nothing and without it we can do nothing that may be acceptable before God as our Sauiour Christ teacheth vs in these words If thou bring the gift or oblation to the alter Matth. 5.24 and there remember that thy brother hath ought against thée leaue there thine offring before the alter and goe thy way first be reconciled to thy brother and then come and offer thy gift Our Sauiour Christ here speaking of the alter and oblations that were in the old law doth teach vs that we can do nothing acceptable to God vnlesse wâ— be truely reconciled to our brethren and do sincerely loue them euen as we desire God in Iesus Christ to loue vs. Therefore if we liue not in true brotherly loue and charitie one with another we cannot come worthely to this holy supper of our Lord Iesus Christ for it is a sacrament of vnitie as Saint Paul saith we that are many 1. Cor. 10.17 are one bread one body because we al are pertakers of one bread For euen as we al eate of one bread and drinke of one cup so we declare and acknowledge thereby that we be all one in Christ Iesus all members of one mysticall body and all lynked together in brotherly loue one with another And as the bread is made of many graines knoden togither euen so we ought all to be knit together in a holy profession of one truth and in brotherly sincere loue one to another which must bring forth her fruits in humbling our selues one to another in the feare of God in helping comforting and reléeuing one another c. But lamentable it is to sée how cold Christian charitie is waxen and how rare it is among men Al men séeke themselues and their own priuat profit and not the good and benefite of their brethren we dispise and disdaine one another we séeke to exalt and aduance our selues one aboue an other by vsury bribery extorsion and oppression we pinch bite yea and deuour one an other If these be our fruits if thus we leade our liues and yet come to communicate on this holy sacrameÌ„t we prouoke gods fearefull vengeance against vs fearefully for to plague vs. So Paul sheweth that for the abusing of this sacrament at Corinth 1. Cor. 11.30 God had so striken them that many were dead and many weak and sicke among them And wheÌ„ I consider how horribly this holy Sacrament is abused among vs how this pearle is cast before swine and ministred to all without making any difference betwéene the cleane and vncleane how ignorantly vnreuerently and profanely it is receiued I cannot but stand in terrour and horrour of gods fearefull plagues to come vpon vs euen to the depriuing vs of the word of life the Gospel of our saluation and of this pretious pledge of our Redemption by Iesus Christ Let vs therefore deare brethren iudge our selues that we bee not iudged of the Lord our God but let vs humble our selues vnder his mighty hand let vs truely turne vnto him by vnfeined repentance and amendment of life Let vs with all reuerence come to this holy feast vnfeinedly confessing our sinnes with an inward féeling of them remorse of conscience for them truly trusting in gods mercy through Iesus Christ who came into this world to saue vs sinners 1. Tim. 1.15 2. Cor. 8.9 Philip. 2.7 who became poore to inrich vs tooke vpon him the shape of a seruant to purchase eternal fréedome and libertie to vs submitted himself to shame Gal. 3.13.15 to procure euerlasting glorie to vs tooke vpon him the curse to obtaine the blessing of God for vs finally suffered death to giue eternall life vnto vs. Thus when we come to receiue this sacrament let vs thus declare the death of our Lord Iesus Christ acknowledge with heart and mouth that the life wée now liue in the flesh Gal. 2.20 we liue by the faith of the sonne of God who hath loued vs and giuen himselfe for vs. This is our worthy receiuing of this holy mysterie euen effectually from our hearts to confesse our owne vnworthinesse and earnestly to hunger for the righteousnesse of Iesus Christ which onely is able to discharge our vnrighteousnesse If therefore we do vnfainedly confesse our vnworthinesse and wickednesse and not with a perfect faith which no where is to be found and which if we had wée should haue no such néede of this sacrament which is ordeyned to strengthen our faith and to be as it were a prop to vphold it but with an vnfaigned faith as the Apostle termeth it come vnto Christ Iesus 1. Tim. 1.5 lay our sins vpon him beléeue that he hath made peace by the blood of his crosse Coloss 1.20 that by his stripes we be healed if we do truly amend our sinfull liues 1. Pet. 2.24 2. Pet. 1.4 féeling the corruption that is in the world through lust and purelie serue God with good consciences And finally do reconcile our selues one to an other and liue in brotherly loue and Christian charitie one with an other in comming to this sacrament we shall not onely licke the rocke but also sucke the hony and Oile out of the same as S. Cyprian saith Serm. de Caenâ— Domini we shall not onely eate Panem domini the bread of the Lord as Iudas did August in Iâ—hn tract 59. but also Panem Dominum that bread which is the Lord as the other disciples of our sauiour Christ did we shall not onely receiue these visible elements of bread and wine but also we shal eat Christs flesh and drinke his blood Iohn 6.56 he shall dwell in vs and we in him and shall hereby more and more grow vp in him and be more and more assured of our saluation in him These things the father of all mercie worke in vs and continually increase in vs to his owne glorie and our eternall comfort and saluation through Iesus Christ our onely sauiour redéemer to whom with the Father the holy Ghost be all praise laud and glorie now and for euer Amen HOSEA 14.10 Who is wise and he shall vnderstand these things and prudent and he shall know them for the wayes of the Lord are vpright and the iust shal walke in them but the wicked shall fall therein LONDON Printed by Iohn VVolfe for George Byshop 1586.
my body And by this reason prooueth our Sauiour Christs bodie to be not spectrum or phantasma a ghost or phantasticall body as Marcion that monster blasphemed but a true body like vnto ours because the Sacrament is a figure of it which it could not be except it were a true body But the Papists doctrin in this point sauoreth strongly of Martions blasphemie for to say that Christs body is in heauen and earth yea and in infinite places of the earth at one instant and that the natural real body of Christ is vnder the formes of bread and wine without any forme quality or quantity of a body without breadth length or thicknes what is this but to make it no true body as Martion did And euen so S. Augustine intreating of Christs bodie saith Epist 57. ad Dardanum NaÌ„ spatia locorum tolle corporibus nusqueÌ„ erunt quia nusquam erunt non erunt Tolle ipsa corpora qualitatibus corporum non erit vbi sint ideo necesse est vt non sint i. for take from bodies the spaces of place they shal be no where and because they be no no where they be not at al. Take the bodies from the qualities of bodies there can be no place where they may be and therfore it must of necessitie be that they be not But the Papists attribute neither place nor qualitie to Christs bodie in the sacrament therefore by S. Augustines iudgement they make it no body and so as I said agrée in one with that monster Martian But to returne to my purpose and to shew that the fathers haue expounded those words of our sauiour Christ in that sense which I haue before declared Augustine saith I may expound that commaundement to be put in the signe Lib. cont Adunantum Maneche dist cap. 12. for our Lord did not doubt to say This is my body when he gaue a signe of his bodie In Psal 3. in 1. â—or 11. Again he admitted him Iudas to the feast wherein he commended and deliuered to his disciples a figure of his bodie and blood Ambrose saith De iis qui initiantur cap. 9. In eating and drinking we do signifie the bodie and blood of Christ which were offered for vs. Againe De Conseâ—ra dist 2. cap. Reuera before Consecration it is named an other kind after Consecration the bodie of Christ is signified The gréeke Fathers in like maner call the sacrament a signe figure or token of Christs body Gegory NazianzeÌ„ Apâ—lâ—g pâ—g 1◠〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 how dare he which first hath not offred himselfe a liuely sacrifice offer to God that outward sacrifice which is a signe or example of those great mysteries and the like he hath in his oration vpon his sister Gorgonia Basile saith Pag. 56. In Canâ—â—â—â—â—turgia 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he hath left vnto vs memorials or remembrances of his passion by which commeth saluation which according to his commaundement we propound vnto you So Theodoritus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Tell me therfore Dialog 2. those mysticall signes which of the priests bee offered to God of what things be they signes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of the Lords bodie and blood 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of his true bodie or not of his true bodie or not of his true bodie 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of his true bodie 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 verie wel for an image must haue a patterne whereof it is an Image 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 euen as Painters also do imitate nature and paint the images of those things that be séene 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is true 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 if then the diuine mysteries be signes or figures of a true bodie the bodie of our Lord is yet a bodie not changed into the nature of the godhead but replenished with diuine glory Homil. 27. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 So saith Macarius In the Church is offered bread and wine examples of his flesh and blood These places that I alledge no moe sufficiently shew that it was not straunge to the godlie fathers to call this sacrament a signe token figure and example of Christs bodie and that they vnderstood these words This is my bodie in that sense the bread to be called Christs bodie because it is an holie signe example and pledge of Christs bodie offred vpon the crosse for vs. Now although I may seeme to haue sufficientlie spoken of the true sense and meaning of these words This is my bodie withall to haue opened the true doctrine of this sacrament yet because many men be not as yet satisfied in this point but the popish doctrine of Transubstantiation and carnall presence of Christs bodie vnder the formes of bread and wine sticketh still in their stomaks I haue thought it very néedfull further to prosecute this matter and more particularly and largely to confute the said errors and to lay open the nakednesse and weaknesse of them The false doctrine of the Papists concerning their Transubstantiation which they corruptly gather of those words of our Sauiour Christ consisteth in two speciall points the one in that they say that after the words of Consecration there remaineth no substance of bread and wine but onely the outward accidences thereof as whitenes roundnes c. The other that the very naturall bodie of Christ which was borne of the blessed virgin is there vnder the said formes of bread and wine As touching the first that there remaneth no substance of bread wine I say that this is contrary to the holy scriptures contrary to the writings of the auncient godly fathers contrarie to the iudgement of all our senses contrarie to the nature of a Sacrament lastly such a doctrin as bringeth with it many absurdities Matth. 26.29 That it is contrary to the scriptures I proue it thus Christ saith I wil drinke no more of the fruit of this vine vntill that day that I shall drinke it with you new in the kingdome of my father Our Sauiour Christ heere speaking of his supper and after his supper calleth it the fruit of the vine which is wine and not blood S. Paul saieth the bread which we break is it not the communion of the bodie of Christ 2. Cor. 10.16 S. Paul here not onely saith that bread is the Communion of Christs body but also saith Which we breake Now what do we breake onely accidences without a substance that is an absurd follie or doe we breake Christs body as Pope Nicolas with his counsell compelled that learned man Berengarius to affirme Dâ— Consec dist 2. cap. Ego Berengarius but that is wicked blasphemie Therefore it is manifest that that which is broken is bread and that bread broken is the communion of the bodie of Christ that is as I before declared a Sacrament and pledge vnto vs of our spirituall and yet