World now by eating of bitter Herbs only certified and convinced and confirm'd in their Faith touching the truth of that deliverance It cannot be denied but that story was made undoubtedly credible by that Mystery because that Mystery was instituted and appointed by God himself upon that occasion so that from that rite any man might conclude that the matter of Fact to which it did relate was beyond all controversie true Why this Christian Rite is of the like signification and use to us as the Paschal Solemnity was to them Though to unbelievers and Hereticks it may seem a thing of a very mean Nature yet considering the reason of its institution and designation it serveth very much to comfort the Hearts and to strengthen the Faith of such as look into it well For it is the memorial of our spiritual deliverance by that Holy Lamb of God which took away the Sins of the World and because we are commanded by him who is the way the truth and the Life to Celebrate this memorial to that End and under that Notion we may be assured that the thing whereof it is a memorial was most certainly True we are hereby certified that Christ our Passeover was Sacrificed for our sins indeed and so our Faith is Confirmed by this Mystery that with Christ there is Plenteous Redemption for us all if we will but quit our bondage and accept of that deliverance which he hath purchased for us by the effusion of his most sacred blood Our Souls being thus establisht by a well grounded Faith another invaluable blessing accrues unto us still For hereby we are closely and if we our selves do not dissolve the band inseparably United to the Lover and Redeemer of our Souls the same Holy Spirit which strengthens our Faith making us also partakers of Christs Nature so that we dwell in him and he in us we are one with him and he with us Exhortat before the Communion as our Church teacheth I confess this is an abstruce speculation and that which many Divines have laboured hard to open to our understanding though all of them have not laboured with equal success Some call it a personal and Mystical Union that is between Christ and every true Believer and in some sense they call it rightly so for this personal Union as some fanciful Men talk of it is such a Mystical business indeed that it is an unaccountable and unintelligible Notion Others calls it and with more Reason and clearness a Moral and political Union and I wish that some in this Age were not so peevish as to be angry at every word that comes not out of their own Mint nor clinks according to their own fancy but would be so charitable and Candid as to give one another grains of allowance considering the unavoidable weaknesses of our Nature for many times 't is hard for us to Conceive of things rightly and sometimes 't is much harder for us to express and utter our Conceptions Now for the due understanding of this matter I conceive that there is a four-fold Union which relateth most to our present business 1. Such an Union as is between the Foundation of a Fabrick and the superstructure which are made one House by being fastned together with the same pins and Cement 2. Such as is between Husband and Wife who become one Flesh by being knit together by the same consent and Love 3. Such as is between a King and his Subjects who become one Society by being linked together by the same Laws 4. Such as is between a root and the boughs which become one Tree by being nourisht with the same moisture and between the head and the Members which are made one Body by being animated with the same Soul Now our Union unto Christ beareth a Resemblance and similitude with all these though it be above them all and it increaseth in degrees according as we grow more and more perfect Then are we one with Christ when we heartily believe his Doctrines when we love him and set our affections upon him when we submit to his Government and obey his Laws when we put our selves out of our own power and resign up our selves to his command and when our own wills are entirely Subject and Conformable to his This is that Moral Union whereby we are fastned to him as to the Foundation and corner Stone of his Church whereby we are Joyned to him as to the Foundation and corner Stone of his Church whereby we are Joyned to him as to the Bridegroom of our souls and whereby we are Related to him as to our Sovereign Head and Lord. Upon no other Terms but these will he own us to be his and when men talk after that wilde and Iewd rate as if Christ were all theirs though they be of an Unchristian Temper and live in open Disobedience to the Laws of Christianity 't is the same thing as if they should say that such may be the Sons of God as are not led by the Spirit of God which is contrary to what S. Paul teacheth us Rom. 8. 14. But yet there seems to be besides this Moral Union a Closer Band between Christ and his Church and that which is the efficient Cause of our abundant Love and Obedience to him and this I call as some of the Ancients did an Union of Nature For as our Humane Nature dwelleth in Christ by means of that Hypostatical Union of our Flesh in his Person so doth Christs Divine Nature dwell in Us by means of a Mystical Union of his Spirit with our Souls The same Spirit which is in him is Communicated to Us also and by Virtue of that Communication we are transformed into his Image his Nature is Graffed in Ours so that we are of a New Constitution and mould and every Lively Member of his Church by Participating of his Spirit is of the same mind with him of the same Temper frame and Disposition that is Holy Humble Heavenly-minded Just Pure Good Charitable Compassionate Kinde and Obedient as he himself was To do men of Learning right they who dispute about Christs being a Political Head do not at all Deny but plainly Own his being an Influential Head too Nor can any thing be more clear then that we derive Influences from him as every member Dr. Sherlocks defence of his Book against Owen pag. 505. in ones Body deriveth Influences from the Head so that we are animated with the Life of Christ there is as it were one and the same Soul in Him and in his Church for he that is joyned unto the Lord is One Spirit 1. Cor. 6. 17. I am the S. Aug. in loc Vine thy are the Branches saith our Saviour Jo. 15. 5. The Vine and the Branches are of One and the same Nature the same Vital Humour which is in the Root is Transmited and Communicated to every living Twig and for that reason did our Saviour use that Similitude to shew that as
Ignatius the Martyr who lived in the Apostolical 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. S. Ignat. Ep. ad Smyrnaeos age that they would not receive the Sacrament because they would not Confess the Eucharist to be the flesh of our Saviour which suffered for our Sins and which was raised again by the goodness of the Father Undoubtedly the Holy Martyr meant that they would not own the Bread to be the Sign and Figure of Christs Body as all Catholicks then believed For the Question was whether our Saviour lived and dyed and rose again in a true Humane Body The Church proved that he did so because he appointed bread to be the Figure of his Body But had they believed the Doctrine of Transubstantiation it would have proved that Christ had a Body which was made of meal not of the substance of the Virgin a Body which did not suffer upon the Cross nor Rise again but it would never have proved that which the Catholicks contented for and so they would have Lost the Question in hand and made Si propterea Corpus sibi finxit quia corporis carebat veritate ergo panem debuit tradere pro nobis Faciebat ad vanitatem Marcionis ut panis cruâ—ifigeretur Tertull. adv Marcion lib 4. themselves Ridiculous to their Adversaries Seeing then the Church in those times believed the bread to be the Figure and Image of Christs Body as Tertullian and Origen affirmed and S. Ignatius meant it is Nonsence to conceive that they believed it to be his very Natural Flesh For how can it be the Figure of a thing and the very real thing too How can I call this the Picture of Christ if I believe it to be Christ himself How can I say it is the Image Nemo potest ipse sibiâ— Imago sui esse Ambros de Fide lib. 1. Neque ipse sibi quisquam imago Hilar. Imago corporis non potest esse ipsum divinum Corpus Concil Nicaen 2. Actione 6. Pignus imago alterius rei sunt id est non adse sed ad aliud aspiciunt Bertram de Corp. Sang. Christi of his Flesh if it be the very Same This doth evidently shew that the Ancient Church did not in the least imagine that the bread is turnd into his very natural Body 3. It is observable that the Primitive Christians aknowledged two distinct Natures in the Sacrament meaning the material Element and that blessed Spiritual thing which goes along with it Thus we are told by Ireneus who was but one remove from the Apostles that the bread which is of the Earth after the calling upon God is no longer || E terra panis percipiens invocationem Dei jam non communis panis est sed Eucharistia ex duabus rebus constans terrena caelesti Iren. adv Haer. l. 4. c. 34. Common bread but the Eucharist consisting of two things an Earthly and an Heavenly thing Thus also Origen doth distinguish the Typical and Symbolical body of Christ meaning the †Materia Panis Orig. in Matth. c. 25. Haec quidem de Typico Symbolicoque corpore Multa porro de ipso verbo dici possunt quod factum est caro verus cibus Ibid. Bread from his True Humane Nature which he calls the Word that was made Flesh the true Food of life So likewise * Nec panem reprobavit Christus quo ipsum corpus suum representavit Tertull. adv Marcion l. 1. Tertullian doth distinguish the Bread which represents Christs Body from the Body it self which is represented by it In like manner the Author of the book de Caena Domini ascribed to S. Cyprian doth distinguish between the bodily Substance of the Holy Viands and that Divine Virtue which is present with them Lastly S. Austin Hoc est quod dicimus hoc modis omnibus approbare contendimus Sacrificium scilicet Ecclesiae duobus confici duobus constare visibili Elementorum specie invisibili Domini nostri Jesu Christi carne sanguine Sacramento Re Sacramenti id est Corpore Christi August apud Gratian. de Consecratione distinct 2. c. 48. as he is quoted by the Collector of the Decrees is positive and plain that the Sacrifice of the Church is made up of two things consisteth of two things the visible Substance of the Elements for that is the meaning of the word species among the Ancients and the Invisible Flesh and Bloud of our Lord Jesus Christ the Sacrament and the thing of the Sacrament or the thing Communicated by the Sacrament namely the Body of Christ To which purpose S. Austin speaks himself up and down in many places of his Writings By this it doth appear that the Christian Doctors for the Quia omnis res illarum rerum naturam veritatem in se continet ex quibus conficitur Id. Ibid. first 400. years acknowledged two distinct and real natures to make up the Eucharist for every thing contains in it the Nature and Truth of those things whereof it doth consist saith S. Augustin which they could not have acknowledged had they conceived the Nature and Substance of the Elements to be turned into the Nature and Substance of Christs Body and Bloud Transubstantiation implyes the total Destruction of the Earthly Nature and Substance which is utterly repugnant to the sense of the Ancients of whom we confidently affirm that as with one mouth they still called it Bread even when 't is broken distributed and received so they distinguisht it still from that which is Represented by the Bread And so true is this that the Whereas in the genuine Epistle of Ignatius ad Philadelph it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Interpolator renders it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. very Interpolator of Ignatius and the Ancient Interpreter of his Epistles speaking of the Eucharist say There is one Flesh of our Lord Jesus and one Bloud which was shed for us and there is one Bread or Loaf which is broken for all Which Observation makes it clear that the Bread and Christs Flesh were believed to be two distinct Natures and so that the Doctrine of Transubstantiation was not thought of in that age wherein that Interpolator and Interpreter did live whensoever that was 4. For the further clearing of this thing yet it is observable in the fourth place of the Primitive Fathers that they Resembled the Union of those two Natures in the Sacrament to the Union of the Two Natures in our Saviours Person To this purpose Justin Martyr discoursing of the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 leg 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 meaning the words of Institution 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Justin Mart. Apol. 2. Eucharist saith we do not receive those things as common bread or common drink but as Jesus Christ our Saviour was by the word of God made Flesh and had Flesh and Bloud for our salvation so we believe that Food which is blessed by Prayer and by
his word whereby our Flesh and Bloud are by alteration nourisht to be the Flesh and Bloud of our Incarnate Saviour As Christ was God and man by the union of two real and distinct Substances the Humane and divine Substance so must the Eucharist be believed to consist of two real and distinct Natures the visible and invisible nature which Joannes Langus observed to be so strong an Argument against Transubstantiation that the Expurgatory Indexes have ordered his Annotations upon those words of Justin to be Quod Transubstantiationem non agnoseit sed apertè contendat cum corpore sanguine Christi remanere veram panis vini Substantiam Ind. Belgic p. 76. blotted out So he that wrote the forementioned book of the Lords Supper affirmeth that as in the Person of Christ the Humanity was seen and the Divinity was hid so in the visible Sacrament the Divine Essence infuseth it self after an invisible and ineffable manner S. Augustin S. Hillary and others of the Antients use the very same similitude and conclude that the Mystery of the Eucharist where two real Vide Augustin in Gratian de Consecr Distinct 2. c. 72. Hilar. de Trin. 1. 8. Ibid. c. 82. Natures go together in the same Sacrament is like the Mystery of the Incarnation where two real Substances were united together in the same Person For the Romanists themselves dare not say that only the Accidents of Humanity were in our Lord at his Incarnation and therefore they ought not to say neither that only the Accidents of bread and wine are in the Eucharist after Consecration At least they ought not to appeal to Antiquity for this conceit it being plainly the sense of the Primitive Church that as the Nature of Man was neither abolisht nor changed into Christs Divinity when 't was united to it so neither is the nature of bread abolisht or changed into Christs Body when 't is administred with it 5. It is observable that whereas some Hereticks in the Ancient times denyed our Saviour to have two several Natures the Catholicks proved he had so by this known received Principle because there are two several Natures in the Sacrament which is a Figure of Christ This is a thing which requires particular observation because it will clearly and undeniably prove that the sense of the Church which I have shewn for the first 300. years was the same still and indeed more plain if possible for the two Centuries next following The occasion of their speaking so plainly was this Between the third and fourth Century there brake out the pestilent heresie of Apollinaris S. Aug. de Haeres c. 55. who held that our Lord took not his Body of the holy Virgin but that the Word was made Flesh so that the Deity was turned and transubstantiated into the Manhood Against this Heresie S. Chrysostom undertook the defence of the Catholick Faith that Christ at his Incarnation was both God and Man one Person of two Natures joyned together which are not one Substance but each hath its Properties distinct from the other And how doth he prove this Why he argues from the condition of the Holy Sacrament wherein there are two Natures so that neither is the Bread turned into Christs Flesh nor his Flesh into Bread but both are distinct Sicut enim antequam Sanctisicetur panis panem nominamus Divina autem illum Sanctificante gratia medinate Sacerdote liberatus est quidem ab appellatione Panis dignus autem habitus est Dominici Corporis â—appellatione ersi Natura panis in ipso Permansâ—t non duo corpora sed unum flii corpus praedicatur sic hîc divina insidente corpori natura unum filium unam personam utraque haec fecerunt S. Chrysoft Ep. ad Caesarium contra Appollinarem in themselves though they go As saith S. Chrysostom before the Consecration of the bread we call it bread but when the Grace of God hath sanctified it by the Priest it is delivered from the name of Bread and is exalted to the Lords Body though the Nature of Bread remaineth still and so two things make one Eucharist so here the Divine Nature is in the Body of Christ but these two Substances are distinct and make one Son and one Person This is a very plain testimony on our side Afterwards the Apollinarians were divided in their opinions for they shifted and were Unstable for want of truth and then Theodoret took up the quarrel against them all in his book entitled Polymorphos For then the Heresie of Eutyches appeared abroad whose opinion was that though Christ had at First two Natures yet after the Union of them the Humanity ceased was quite absorpt and Transubstantiated into the Divinity To prove this those Hereticks drew an argument from the Eucharist Christs Body said they was turned into his Deity at the Ascension even as the Bread and Wine are turned into his Flesh 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Theodoret Dialog 1. and Bloud upon Consecration But to his Theodoret answered roundly that Christ honoured the visible Symbols with the name of his Body and Bloud not changing their Nature but to their Nature adding Grace And whereas it was urged again by those Hereticks that the Symbols of the Lords Body and Bloud are one thing before Invocation and another thing after Theodoret told them that they were taken in their own nets because the Mystical Signs do not Id. Dialog 2. depart from their own Nature after Sanctification but Remain in their former Substance aswell as in their Figure and form If this be not Home and Plain I know not what can be and yet we have a Further Testimony from the mouth of Gelasius who was Bishop of Rome too about 500 years after our Saviour He wrote an Excellent Book of the Two Natures of Christ against the Eutychians and Nestorians and how doth he argue Why he clears the Catholick Faith by arguing from the Eucharist too and these Gelas de duabus Naturis in Christo are his words Indeed the Sacraments of Christ Body and Bloud which we receive are a Divine thing for by them we are made partakers of the Divine Nature and yet it doth not cease to be the Substance or Nature of Bread and Wine The Image and Similitude of Christs Body and Bloud is in the Action of the Mysteries and by this it appears that we must think that to be in Christ which we Profess celebrate and take in the Image that as they pass into a Divine Substance by the Operation of the Holy Spirit the Nature of the things remaining still in their own Propriety so is the Principal Mysterie the Efficiency and Virtue whereof the Sacraments do Represent by their Continuing what they were it appears that they shew one entire and true Christ to continue also If this be not enough yet we will produce Ephraim the Patriarch for another witness after Gelasius He wrote very learnedly against
the Holy Sacrament is there if men flinch from their Duty and willfully draw back the Crime is of such a high nature that Gods Soul will have no pleasure in such Apostates Heb 10. 38. The very Heathens accounted the violation of Contracts especially such Contracts as had been made at the Altars of their Gods to be one of the most Execrable Villanies in the World Nay they looked upon those Covenants which were made only by Bread and Salt to have been very 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Origen cont Cels lib. 2. pag. 74. Sacred tyes and obligations For which reason Celsus the Pagan argued against the Credibility of that story concerning the treachery of Judas For said he when one man eateth with another they scorn to betray one another and therefore he thought it impossible for any man to be false to his God when he communicates with him at the same Table Now in this Celsus was guilty of a manifest untruth as Origen rightly answer'd for many such perfidious fellows there have been who have betrayed those of whose Bread they have eaten Origen instanced in Lycambas who was upbraided by Parius for violating the Covenant he had made by the Rite of eating Bread and Salt But yet it is true that mankind in general have ever Hated such treachery and despised all such as were guilty and faithless after that manner and Judas his Sin was very great and monstrous beyond expression and comparison And yet there have been more Judases in the world then One Many Traitours have eaten and drank at Gods Table nay have been admired too for their Treachery have been Canoniz'd for it by such as themselves have been numbred by their fellow Traitours among the Blessed in the Saints everlasting rest However the sin is Abominable and when men receive the blessed Sacrament they are deeply obliged to be steady and true to their promises and to their Contracts which they make with the Divine Majesty St Paul calls mens Apostatizing from the duty the treading under foot the Son of God and the counting the blood of the Covenant an unholy or a profane and common thing Heb. 10. 29. Which expressions are Emphatically applicable to the sin I now speak of the sin of Unfaithfulness after we have participated of Christ after we have drank of his blood this is indeed to despise the Son of God as one of no value and to trample upon his blood as an unprofitable as a contemptible as a vile thing and of what sore punishments shall not such be thought worthy It was an old custome among some people to make Covenants by giving and taking a little quantity of Wool which they had shorn Quibus foederibus qui contrairet turpissimo facinore in expiabili scelere tenebatur Alex. ab Alexand ubi supra from the top of a Lambs Head and they who violated such Covenants were held guilty of the foulest Crime and inexpiable wickedness If Covenants between man and man made by such frivolous and inconsiderable tokens were reputed sacred by the very Pagans how Sacred ought we Christians to count such Contracts as we make with the Divine being by eating the Flesh and drinking the Blood of the very Lamb of God I conclude this consideration with those words of Solomon Eccles. 5. 4 5. When thou vowest a Vow unto God defer not to pay it for he hath no pleasure in fools pay that which thou hast vowed Better is it that thou shouldest not vow than that thou shouldest vow and not pay CHAP. IV. A third end of this Sacrament is to engage us to observe the Laws of that Religion to which it doth belong Proved from the Notion of the new Covenant From the design of Mysteries in general From its Analogy to Mystical Banquets in particular both among Heathens and Jews especially the Paschal-Supper The sense of the Church touching this matter TO proceed now to another end of this Sacrament It being already demonstrated that this Mystery was instituted as a Foederal or Covenant Rite to be used under the Gospel it necessarily followeth that a Third End of it is to engage all such as use it to the strict observation of that Religion which is establisht by the Gospel This will evidently appear if we consider well these three things 1. If we consider only the Nature and Notion of the Evangelical Covenant to which this Mystery doth belong 2. If we consider besides the design an Importance of all Mystical Rites in general 3. If we consider also the Analogy which this Rite beareth to the ancicient Mystical Banquets in particular 1. As to the First of these the Nature and Notion of a Covenant is this that it is a Pact Contract or agreement containing certain Conditions and Promises for the performance whereof each party bindeth himself and undertaketh to the other And the Evangelical Covenant is a Pact of this nature For as it containeth promises which it lyeth on Gods part to make good as that he will pardon our sins in this world and take such care of our Souls and Bodies that we shall be everlastingly happy in the next World so it contains certain conditions and terms which it lyes on Our part to perform in order thereunto as that we will believe on his Son whom he sent into the World to be our Propitiation that we will sincerely repent of all the miscarriages we have committed and that we will make it our care and business to lead a Life of Vertue and Holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. Seeing then that this is the Covenant that is between God and us now seeing that this Mystery was appointed pursuant to this Covenant and seeing that at the due Celebration of it the Covenant is Ratified and confirmed it must undeniably follow whatever the Socinians and others affirm to the contrary that by this Sacred Rite God himself is supposed to Seal his part of the Covenant unto us and moreover that we are supposed to Seal Our part of the Covenant unto him I mean we are understood hereby visibly to profess engage and stipulate that we do and will stedfastly believe heartily repent and by the help of Gods Grace unfeignedly resolve to lead our lives so as the Laws of Christ's Religion do require us If it be a Foederal rite as I have sufficiently proved this must be the design and meaning of it in short 2. But besides this we are to observe in the second place that all those Mystical Rites which ever were used in the World by any Sect or Society of men were always designed to engage people to be obedient and True to that Religion to which those Rites did appertain This I note not as if any Religion in the World could compare with the Christian Institution nor as if any Mystical Rites in the World ever were of that importance and dignity as ours are but only to shew what the general sense of Mankind hath
Communicants do indeed receive Christs very Body and Bloud by receiving the Elements and that Christs Body and Bloud are verily tendred and offer'd even to the unworthy though they receive them not For were it not thus I would gladly understand how it cometh to pass that unworthy receiving brings upon a mans Soul some peculiar and extraordinary Guilt If it be a special sin as S. Pauls words argues it to be against the Body and Bloud of our Lord it must follow that the Body and Bloud of our Lord are there For a sin is of a peculiar nature and consideration when it is acted against an Object that is more peculiarly Interested and Concern'd so the sin against the Holy Ghost seems strictly and and properly to be a malicious resisting and reproaching of the Truth in spight of those Miracles which are wrought by the Holy Ghost for the Confirmation of the Truth A man is then said to be peculiarly guilty of the sin against the Holy Ghost because in the working of Miracles the Holy Ghost is concern'd and interested after a peculiar manner To this purpose it is observable that when our Saviour spoke of this sin it was after some Miracle that he had done and by occasion of the Jews reproaching it as if it had been done not by the Power and Spirit of God but by Beelzebub It was especially a sin against the Holy Ghost because in the Miracle the Holy Ghost was specially concern'd Even so here unworthy receiving makes a man guilty of a sin against our Lords Body and Bloud because his Body and Bloud are peculiarly Interested in the Sacrament Evil men strike at Christ then after a most sinful sort because his Body and Bloud are present there after a singular manner and therefore doth the sin bring an extraordinary guilt because it is the doing despight to the very Body and Bloud of Him who made himself an offering for us For these and the like reasons the Catholik Church of Christ hath in all ages believed a real presence of his Body and Bloud in the Sacrament nor do I know any one Doctrine of Christianity which hath come unto us with less Contradiction then this came down from the very days of the Apostles even to the times of Berengarius And so true is this that the Learned know well that the Ancients grounded their Faith of our real Union with Christ upon this Principle because his very Body and Bloud are really communicated to us by our receiving the Eucharist As they believed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 S. Chrys in 1 Cor. 10. 16. vide Iren. multos alios a Supernatural Union between the Natures in Christ so they believed a Mystical Union between all the Faithful and Christ and this they concluded because they believed a Sacramental Union between Christ and those Creatures of Bread and Wine whereby we receive Christ S. Hilary calls our Conjunction Hilar. de Trinit lib. 8. with Christ a Natural conjunction because as Our Nature was before united to his by his Incarnation so now his Nature is United to Ours by the Communion Our Church calls it the Communion of the Body and Bloud of the Lord in a marvellous Incorporation and S. Austin himself Homily of the Sacram 1. Part. used the same Expression and all the Ancients acknowledged this real Union to be wrought by means of that Real S. August Ep. ad Iren. Communion of our Saviours very Body and Bloud at and by the Holy Sacrament For the Opening now of this great Mystery I shall shew these Five things 1. That we are to distinguish between Christs Natural and his Spiritual Body 2. What is meant by his Spiritual Body 3. Why it is so called 4. That Christ hath a Spiritual Body indeed 5. That this Spiritual Body is received by us in the Sacrament 1. We are to distinguish Christs Spiritual from his Natural Body not as if he had two different Bodies but because that One and the same Body of his is to be considered after a different manner Now this is S. Pauls own distinction 1 Cor. 15. 44. There is a Natural or Animal Body and there is a Spiritual Body The Apostle there treats of that Exalted state our bodies shall be in after the Resurrection how they shall be delivered from all Mortality and Corruption and shall be the everlasting Temples of the Divine Spirit and shall shine with light like the Stars and shall be like Angelical Substances and Spirits in Comparison and all this because our Saviour is risen and gone before us into heaven and there remaines in a Glorious Body as 't is called Philip. 3. 21. Now this Body of Christ may be considered either in respect of its own Natural Substance as it consisteth of Flesh Bones and Bloud and other Constituent and Perfective parts of humane nature and in this sense no man can partake of the Lords Body Or else it may be considered with respect to his Divinity as that is united to it as it is clothed with infinite Majestie as it is replenisht with the Presence and energy of the God-head as it casteth live Influences upon his Church by virtue of the God-head dwelling in it and filleth all things with Spiritual rayes and emanations of his Grace In this respect our Lord is called a Quickning Spirit 1 Cor. 15. 45. the first man Adam was made a living soul the last Adam was made a Quickning Spirit because he giveth life to every Humble and Obedient heart here below and through his Humane Nature dispenseth to every one the Vertues of his Passion and in this respect every good Christian participates of Christs Body that is of the Spiritualities of his glorious Body The Ancient Christians acknowledged and insisted much upon this distinction between the Natural and the Spiritual body of Christ confessing the one to be in the Sacrament but not the other There is Saith Clemens Alexandrinus a Twofold 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Clem. Alex. Paedag. l. 2. in mitio Blond of our Lord there is his Fleshly Bloud whereby we were redeemed from destruction and there is his Spiritual Bloud whereby we are now Anointed and this is to drink the Bloud of Jesus to be made partakers of our Lords Incorruption In like manner Origen Shewing that even in the New Testament there is a letter which killeth if men do not understand that which is said after a Spiritual Si enim secundum liberam sequaris hoc ipsum quod dictum est nisi manducaveretis carnem mean biberitis Sanguinem meum occider haec litera Orig. in Lev. 10. Homilt manner instanceth in that Phrase of eating Christs Flesh and drinking his Bloud for saith he if you understand this according to the sound and clink of the Expression it is a killing letter S. Jerome also tells us that the Bloud and Flesh of Christ is to be Duplicitur verè sanguis Christi caro intelligitur
quis dixerit verbum contra filium c. Tom. 1. P. 979. Edit Par. into Heaven that he might draw off their minds from Gross and Carnal Apprehensions and that they might thenceforth know that the Flesh he speak of was to be Food from above Heavenly and Spiritual nourishment that he S. Cyril Alex. in Joan. lib. 4. c. 22. was to give them And this was no more impossible for him to do than it was impossible for him to fly through the air he could as easily make his Body Spiritual and vital as he could make an Heavenly of an Earthly Substance especially since he was God which he put them in mind of by telling them that he was in Heaven before 2. But to clear the matter fully he Id. 16. c. 23. Interpreted himself to them vers 63. It is the Spirit that Quickneth the Flesh profiteth nothing meaning as S. Cyril excellently understands it that though his Flesh considered in it self could not quicken any thing as standing in need it self of a quickning principle yet considering the Mystery of the Incarnation and how the Word dwelleth in the Flesh we are to conclude that even the Body of Christ hath a quickning Faculty being united to that Word which giveth life to all For the corruptible Nature of Man did not degrade the Word by being joyned unto it but became it self exalted into a far better condition so that though it Quickneth not of it self yet it doth by the Energy and Operation of the Word the Spirit or Deity of Christ the plenitude whereof dwelleth in our Saviours Flesh bodily and so maketh it Vivisick This truth being laid down that our Lords Body is full of Vital virtue by being united to the Godhead it followeth very plainly that we must not think of eating the Natural and Heavenly Substance of our Lords Body after a Bodily manner with our mouths But of receiving into our Hearts and Souls the Spiritual Virtues of his glorified Flesh with a lively Faith the words that I speak Ubi supra unto you they are Spirit and they are Life saith Christ meaning thus much according to Athanasius that my Body which is given for the World shall be given for food to be ministred to every one after a Spiritual manner his words are Spiritual and to be spiritually understood as S. Cyril S. Chrysostom and the rest all say that is to be interpreted of that Spirit which is Life and which giveth life and of those Spiritual Influences which come from Christs Heavenly Body by the virtue energy and operation of that Eternal vivifick Word which abideth in it From this whole discourse of our Saviour especially as it is explained by those two great Luminaries of the Church S. Cyril and Athanasius we are to conceive that the Humane Nature of Christ being taken 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 S. Cyril in Joan. lib. 4. c. 24. into God at his Incarnation and being vested with the Glories of Heaven upon his Ascension is so full of the Energy of the Divine Spirit that it is become a Spiritual Body Not that it hath lost the Nature of Flesh but because it is Hypostatically united to the Godhead by reason of which Union it is endued with an enlivening Quid est eundem nisi quia eum quem etiam nos S. Aug. Tom. 10. Hom. 27. Power and the Man Christ Jesus that Quickning Spirit doth through his Glorified Humanity dispense those Spiritual Virtues which are the proper Food and Nutriment of the Soul and are fitly called Christs Spiritual Body Christs Spiritual Flesh and Bloud This may be further illustrated yet by considering what S. Paul saith 1 Cor. 10. 3 4. how that our Fathers in the wilderness did all eat the same spiritual meat and did all drink the same Spiritual drink meaning that they had the same Spiritual meat and drink with us For they drank of that Spiritual Rock that went with them and that Rock was Christ And how did they eat and drink of Christ but by receiving from him those Graces and Vertues which have all along been the Portion and Sustenance of the Faithful For Christ was with all Believers under the Law before his manifestation in the Flesh they were continually under his care and Providence their Souls lived by his Divine Influence as their Bodies were supported with Manna and were refresht by waters out of the Rock Now these were Figures of good things to come that when Christ the true Manna should descend from Heaven and should be smitten upon the Cross as the Rock which prefigur'd him was smitten with Moses Rod he would ever be life and aliment to those that should believe on his Name and that that Body of his which was to be smitten as the Rock was should send forth such abundant salutary streams of Living waters as would Quench the thirst of every true Israelite to all Eternity And this real but Ineffable presence of Christs Grace and Virtues is that which the Doctors of the Christian Church meant when they speak with such ravishment of the Presence of the Holy Jesus with us poor mortals in this vale of misery They entertain'd not any mean and nauseous conceits of the presence of Christs Natural Body whether in or out of the Sacrament but they were taken up with Noble and Lofty speculations and they fixt their minds upon the Divine and Mysterious consideration of those Beatifying streams of Grace which spring from Christ the Fountain of everlasting life and are conveyed unto his Church through his Humanity by the efficacious operation of his Divine Spirit The Anciens considered that the eating of Christ Natural Flesh and the drinking of his Natural Bloud were the thing possible and consistent with Humanity could not be profitable could not be to any purpose in comparison of those vital and operative Virtues which flow from Christ and Quicken all that are capable and apt to be quickned and therefore their meditations soared high they listed up their own minds to Heaven instead of bringing down Christ upon the Earth they minded and spake of the real presence of his Spiritual Body only And when we find some of them to speak as if the Nature and Substance of Christ were exhibited to us we should consider what they themselves meant by those and the like expressions For they spake like Divines that were full of Lofty and Seraphick notions and were forced to speak of Mysteries in a high strain giving the Elements in the Sacrament becoming and honourable 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 S. Cyril ubi Supr Names but intending by the Flesh and Bloud of Christ the Virtue the Grace the Spirituallities and Efficacy of his Humane Nature as it is Quickned and made quickning to us by the Power of the Eternal Word in conjunction with it As S. Austin says Secundam Majestatem suam secundum providentiam secundum Ineffabilem Invisibilem Gratiam impletur quod ab
the Root doth Convey its Quality to the Boughs so doth the Son of God give Cyril Alex. in Joan. l. 10. c. 13. to his Saints an affinity of his Own and his Fathers Nature by giving them his Spirit so that by the participation of his Spirit whereby we are conjoyned unto him we Communicate of his Nature To the same purpose are those words Jo. 17. 21. where the Holy Jesus prayed that his Disciples might be One that as the Father is in him and he in the Father so his Disciples might be One in or with them Which words do import something more than an Unity of Affection and Will for the Son is One with the Father and the Father One with the Son by being Both of the same Divine Essence so that we may conceive the full meaning of that Prayer to be that all Christians might be One not onely with themselves by the Unity of Faith and Love and with God by Consent and Agreement of Will but that they might be One with the Son and the Father by bearing in them the Divine Image by a likeness Similitude and Resemblance of Nature though they cannot be One by Identity of Substance Thus I am sure some of the Ancients understood this and the other place of Scripture where Christ is called a Vine And the Faith of the Old Catholick Church was this that by the efficacious Energy of Gods Spirit some Rays of his Divinity are conveyed into us whereby we are made partakers of the Divine Nature and that this Participation of Nature is the closest Ligament * S. Ignatius calls it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ep. ad Ephes pag. 22. Bandage and Instrument of Union between Us and our Redeemer This will evidently appear by this one Argument Some Hereticks did of old as the the Socinians do now Deny the Divinity of our Saviour and when they were put hard to it by the Catholick Doctors who argued against them from those words of Christ himself I and my Father are One and from other places of the like importance the Hereticks returned this answer that Christ is One with the Father by * Id quod ait Ego Pater unum sumus tentant Haeretici ad unanimitatis referre consensum ut voluntatis in his Unit as sit non naturae id est ut non per id quod idem Sunt sed per id quod idem volunt unum sunt Hilar nitate lib. 8. pag. 119. Ed. Par. Unity of Love and by agreement of Will but not by Identity of Essence But this would not by any means Satisfie the Catholicks who proved an Unity of Nature between Christ and his Father by shewing that Unity of Nature which is between Christ and Us in some Cvril Alex. in Joan. lib. 10. c. 13. measure and Degree We do not deny saith S. Cyril but that we are joyned to Christ by a True Faith and Sincere Love but that there is no Union at all between him and Us in respect of his Flesh that saith he we do utterly Deny For Christ is in Us by the Communication of his Nature And again besides the Unity of Consent and Will Id lib. 11. c. 26. there is saith he a Natural Union whereby we are Tyed unto God And again we are made the Sons of God and Heavenly men being made one with Christ by the participation of the Divine Nature and so we are One not onely by Affection and Consent but one also by the Communion of his Holy Flesh and one by the Participation of One Holy Spirit S. Cyril was very prolix and very Positive and Dogmatical upon this point and so was S. Hilary before him for he did argue the same way and did plainly assert a Natural * Eos nunc qui inter patrem filium voluntatis ingerant unitatem interrogo utrumne per naturae veritatem bodie Christus in nobis sit an per concordiam voluntatis Si enim vere verbum caro factum est nos vere verbum carnem cibo Dominico sumimus quomodo non naturaliter manere in nobis existimandus est qui naturam carnis nostrae jam insepar abilem sibi homo natus assumpsit naturam carnis suae ad naturam aternitatis sub Sacramento nobis communicanda carnis admiscuit Hilar. de Trin. lib. 8. Haec vitae nostrae causa est quod in nobis carnablibus manentem per carnem Christum habemus victuris nobis per euin ea conditione qua vivit ille per patrem Si ergo nos naturaliter secunduim carnem per eum vivimus id est naturam carnis suae adepti quomodo non naturaliter secundum spiritum in se patrem habeat cum vivat ipse per Patrem Id. ibid. Unity between Christ and Us meaning such an Union as is wrought by the Communion of his Nature This is saith he the cause of our Life that we have Christ abiding in us according to his Flesh that is his Spiritual Flesh and we live by him as he himself liveth by the Father c. Now Christ liveth by his Father through the Communication of his Divine Substance and we live by Christ through the Communication of his Holy Nature * By the Communication of Christs Nature to us is meant the Communinication of the Divine Virtues of his Flesh which are like sparks conveyed into Our nature and by means of this Communication of Christs Virtues that Union is wrought between him Us which S. Hillary and S. Cyril call a Natural Union Sensus est Christum in nobis esse non per corporis sui Substantiam sed per Efficaciam carnis suae quam in Eulogia Mystica participamus unde resultat cum eo inter nos vera Unitas Quis enim negare posset aut participationem efficaciae earnis ejus veram ac Realem esse aut ex ejusmodi participatione veram Realem unitatem inter illum nos consurgere Albertinus de Sacr. Euchar. lib. 2. pag. 765. The Notion of our Union with Christ being thus explained it is easie to prove now that this strict and most blessed Union is effected by a due use of this Holy Sacrament For since we do hereby participate of his Blessed Body and Bloud and are endued with a plentiful measure of his Spirit it necessarily and plainly followeth that we receive such a portion of his Nature as is suitable to our Capacities and so that we are One with him because we receive of His and are enlivened and quickned by the same Spirit which dwelleth in him and are of one and the same Nature with him But besides the words of Christ himself are plain Jo. 6. 56. He that eateth my Flesh and drinketh my bloud dwelleth in me and I in Him Perhaps the words are to be understood as if they were to be read Thus as he dwelleth in me so I dwell in him meaning that as our Nature was United to