certayn tymes and was sent to do al thinges that pertained to saluation or that in his office of settynge foorthe Goddes word he vsed no witty persuasions whiche in deede he vsed moste discreetely or that the grafter and waterer bee nothyng whych be Goddes creatures made to his similitude without whose worke there shuld be no increase or to say that he was not alyue who both lyued and ranne from cuntrey to countrey to set foorth Goddes glory or clerely to affirme that he gloried and reioyced in no other thyng thā in Christes crosse who reioyced with all men that were in ioye and sorowed with all that were in sorowe or to deny vtterly that we wrastle agaynst fleshe and bloud whych ceasse not dayly to wrastle and warre agaynst our enemies the worlde the fleshe and the dyuel In all these sentences S. Paule as I sayde ment not clerely to deny these thyngs which vndoubtedly were all trewe but he ment that in comparison of other greatter thynges these smaller were not muche to be estemed but that the greater thynges were the chief thyngs to be consydered As that syn committed by his infirmitie was rather to be imputed to original syn or corruption of nature which lay lurkyng within hym than to his owne will and consent And that although he was sente to baptyse yet he was chiefely sent to preache Goddes worde And that althoughe he vsed wyse and discreete persuasions therin yet the successe therof came principally of the power of God and of the workyng of the holy spirite And that althoughe the grafter and waterer of the gardeyn be some thynges and doo not a lyttell in theyr offyces yet it is God chiefely that geueth the increace And that although he lyued in this worlde yet his chiefe lyfe concernyng God was by Christ whome he had lyuyng within hym And that although he gloried in many other thynges ye in his owne infirmitees yet his greattest ioy was in the redemption by the crosse of Christe And that althoughe oure spiryte dayly fyghteth agaynste our fleshe yet our chiefe and principall fyght is agaynst our gostely enemies the subtill and puisant wicked spirites and diuels The same maner of speeche vsed also S. Peter in his fyrste epistle saiyng That the apparayle of women shoulde not be outwardly with broyded heare and settynge on of golde nor in puttynge on of gorgious apparayle but that the inwarde man of the harte shoulde be with out corruption In whyche maner of speche he intended not vtterly to forbid al browderyng of hear al gold and costly apparell to al women For euery one muste bee apparailed accordyng to their condition state and degree but he ment hereby clerely to condempne all pryde and excesse in apparayle and to moue all women that they should study to deck their soules inwardly with al vertues not to be curious outwardly to deck and adorne their bodies with sumptuous apparell And our sauiour Christe hymselfe was full of suche maner of speeches Gather not vnto you saieth he treasure vpon earthe wyllynge vs therby rather to set our myndes vpon heauenly treasure whyche euer endureth than vpon earthly treasure whiche by many sundry occasions perysheth and is taken awaye frome vs. And yet wordly treasure muste nedes bee had and possessed of some men as the person tyme and occasion dooth serue Likewyse he said Whan you be brought before kynges and princes thynke not what and howe you shal answer Not willyng vs by this negatiue that we shuld negligently and vnaduisedly answere we care not what but that wee shoulde depende of our heauenly father trustynge that by his holy spirite he wyll sufficientely instructe vs of answere rather than to truste of any aunswere to bee deuised by oure owne wytte and study And in the same manner he spake whan he sayde It is not you that speake but it is the spirite of God that speaketh within you For the spirite of god is he that principally putteth godly wordes into our mouthes and yet neuer the lesse we do speake accordyng to his mouyng And to be short in al these sentences folowing that is to saie Call no man your father vpon erth Let no man cal you lord or master Fear not them that kyll the body I came not to send peace vpon earth It is not in me to set you at my right hand or left hande You shal not worshyp the father neither in this mount nor in Ierusalem I take no witnes at no man My doctrine is not myne I seke not my glory In all these negatiues oure sauiour Christe spake not precisely vtterly to deny al y e forsayd things but in cōparison of them to prefer other thinges as to preferre our father and lord in heuen aboue any worldly father lord or master in earth and his feare aboue the feare of any creature and his word and gospell aboue al worldly peace Also to preferre spirituall and inward honoryng of God in pure hart mynd aboue locall corporal outward honor and that Christe preferred his fathers glorye aboue his owne Now forasmuch as I haue declared at length the nature and kynd of these negatiue speches whyche bee no pure negatiues but by comparison it is easy hereby to make answere to S. Iohn Chrysostome who vsed this phrase of speche moste of any author For his meanynge in his foresayde homily was not that in the celebration of the Lords supper is neyther bread nor wyne neither priest nor the body of Christe which the Papistes themselues must nedes cōfesse but his entēt was to draw our myndes vpwardes to heauen that we shuld not consider so muche the bread wine priest and body of Christ we shuld consyder his diuinitee and holy spirite gyuen vnto vs to our eternall saluation And therfore in the same place he vseth so many tymes these words Thinke and thinke not willyng vs by those wordes that we shulde not fixe our thoughtes myndes vpon the bread wine priest nor Christes body but to lyft vp our hartes higher vnto his spirite and diuinite without the whiche his body auaileth nothynge as he saith hym selfe It is the spirite that gyueth lyfe the fleshe auayleth nothyng And as the same Chrysostom in many places moueth vs not to cōsider the water in baptisme but rather to haue respect to the holy ghost receued in baptisme and represented by the water euen so doth he in this homily of the holy cōmuniō moue vs to lift vp our mynds frō al visible corporal things to thīgs inuisible spiritual In so muche that although Christe was but ones crucified yet would Chrysostome haue vs to thynke that we see hym dayly whypped and scourged before our eies and his body hāgyng vpon the Crosse and the speare thruste into his side and the most holy bloud to flowe out of his syde into our mouthes After whiche maner S. Paule wrote to the
expounding these wordeÌ„s thei vary amoÌ„g them selfes which is a tokeÌ„ that thei be vncertain of their owne doctrine For some of them saye that by this pronoune demonstratiue this Christ vnderstode not the bread nor wyne but his body and bloud And other som say that by the pronoune this he ment nether the bread nor wyne nor his body nor bloud but that he ment a particular thyng vncertayne whiche they cal Indiuiduum vagum or Indiuiduum in genere I trow some Mathematicall quiditee they can not tell what But let all these Papistes together shew any one authoritee either of scripture or of auncient author either Greke or Latin that saith as thei say that Christ called not breade and wyne his body and bloud but Indiuiduum vagum and for my part I shall geue theim place and confesse that they say trewe And if they can shewe nothynge for theym of antiquitee but onely their owne bare wordes than it is reason that thei geue place to the truthe confirmed by so many authoritees both of scripture and of auncient writers which is that Christ called very material bread his body and very wyne made of grapes his bloud Nowe this beyng fully proued it must nedes folow consequently that this maner of speking is a figuratiue speeche For in playne and proper speche it is not true to saie that breadde is Christes body or wyne his bloud For Christes body hath a soule life sence reason but bread hath neither soule nor life sense nor reason Likewise in playne speche it is not true that we eate Christes body and drynke his bloude For eatynge and drynkynge in their proper and vsuall signification is with the tong teeth and lyppes to swalow diuide and chawe in peeces whiche thyng to do to the fleshe and bloudde of Christ is horrible to be heard of any christian So that these speches To eate Christes body and drynk his bloud be speches not taken in the proper signification of euery worde but by translation of these wordes eatyng and drinkyng from the signification of a corporal thyng to signifie a spiritual thyng and by callyng a thyng that signifieth by the name of the thyng which is signified therby Which is no rare nor straÌ„ge thyng but an vsual maner and phrase in coÌ„mon speeche And yet least this fault shulde be imputed vnto vs that we doo fayne thynges of our owne heades without authoritee as the Papistes bee accustomed to do here shalbe cited sufficient authoritee as well of scripture as of olde auncient authors to approue the same Fyrst when our sauiour Christ in the sixte of Iohn sayd that he was the bread of life the wheÌ„che whosoeuer did eate should not dye but liue for euer that the bread whiche he would geue vs was his fleshe and therefore whosoeuer should eate his fleshe and drynke his bloud should haue euerlastyng lyfe and they that should not eate his fleshe and drynke his bloud should not haue euerlastyng life When Christ had spoken these woordes with many mo of the eatyng of his fleshe and drinkyng of his bloud both the Iewes mani also of his disciples wer offended with his wordes and sayd This is an hard saiyng For howe can he geue vs his fleshe to be eaten Christ perceiuing their murmuring heartes because they knewe none other eatyng of his fleshe but by chawyng and swalowyng to declare that they should not eate his body after that sorte nor that he ment of any suche carnall eatyng he sayd thus vnto theim What if you see the sonne of man ascende vp where he was before It is the spirite that geueth life the fleshe auayleth nothyng The wordes whiche I spake vnto you be spirit and life These wordes our sauior Christ spake to lift vp their myndes froÌ„ yearth to heauen froÌ„ carnal to spiritual eatyng that thei should not phaÌ„tasy that they should with their trethe eate him preseÌ„tly here in yearth for his flesh so eateÌ„ sayth he should nothyng profite them And yet â—o thei should not eate him for he would take his body away from them and ascend with it into heuen And there by fayth not with teeth they should spiritually eate him sittyng at the right hand of his father And therfore sayth he The wordes whiche I do speake be spirite and life that is to say are not to be vnderstand that we shall eate Christ with our teethe grossely and carnally but that we shall spiritually gostly with our fayth eate him beyng carnally absent from vs in heauen And in suche wyse as Abraham and other holy fathers did eate him many yeres before he was incarnated and borne As S. Paule sayth that they did eate the same spiritual meate that wee do and dranke the same spirituall drynke that is to saye Christe For they spiritually by their fayth were fed and norished with Christes body and bloud and had eternal life by him before he was borne as we haue nowe that come after his ascencion Thus haue you hearde the declaracion of Christe him selfe and of sainct Paule that the eatyng and drinkyng of Christes fleshe bloud is not taken in the common signification with mouthe and teethe to eate and chawe a thyng beyng present but by a liuely fayth in heart and mynde to chawe and degest a thyng beyng absent either ascended hence into heauen or els not yet borne vpon yearth And Origene declaryng the sayd eatyng of Christes flesh and drinkyng of his bloud not to be vnderstand as the wordes do sound but figuratiuely wryteth thus vpon these woordes of Christ Except you eate my fleshe and drinke my bludde you shall not haue lyfe in you Considre saith Origen that these thinges written in gods bokes are figures and therefore examine and vnderstande them as spirituall and not as carnall men For if you vnderstand them as carnall menne they hurte you and feede you not For euen in the gospels is there founde letter that kylleth And not only in the olde testamente but also in the newe is there found lettre that slayeth him that doth not spiritually vnderstande that whiche is spoken For if thou folowe the lettre or woordes of this that Christe saide Excepte you eate my fleshe and drinke my bludde this lettre kylleth Who canne more plainlye expresse in any wordes that the eatinge and drinkinge of Christes fleshe and blood are not to be taken in common significacion as the wordes pretend and sound than Origene doth in this place And S. Iohn Chrysostom affirmeth the same saying that if any man vnderstand the woordes of Christ carnally he shall surely profite nothyng therby For what meane these woordes The fleshe auaileth nothinge He ment not of his fleshe god forbid but he ment of them that fleshely and carnally vnderstode those thynges that Christe spake But what is carnall vnderstanding To vnderstand the woordes simply as they be spoken and nothinge els For we ought not so to vnderstande the
a thing that we should knowe that the eatyng is our dwellyng in him and our drinkyng is as it were an incorporation in him beyng subiecte vnto him in obedience ioyned vnto him in our wylles and vnited in our affections The eatyng therefore of this fleshe is a certaine hunger and desire to dwell in him Thus wryteth Cyprian of the eatyng drynkyng of Christe And a lytle after he sayth that none do eate of this lambe but suche as be true Israelites that is to say pure christian menue without colour or dissimulacion And Athanasius speakinge of the eatinge of Christes fleshe and drinking of his bloud sayth that for this cause he made mention of his ascēcion into heauen to plucke them from corporall phantasie that thei might learne hereafter that his fleshe was called the celestiall meate that came from aboue and a spirituall foode which he would geue For those thinges that I speake to you saithe he be spirite and life Whiche is as muche to say as that thinge which you see shalbe slayne gyuen for the norishment of the worlde that it maye bee distributed to euerye body spiritually and be to all men a conseruacion vnto the resurrection of eternall lyfe In these woordes Athanasius declareth the cause why Christ made mention of his ascention into heauen whan hee spake of the eatinge and drinking of his fleshe and blud The cause after Athanasius mynde was thys that his hearers shuld not thinke of any carnal eating of his body with their mouths for as concerning the presence of his body he should be taken from them and ascende into heauen but that they shuld vnderstande him to be a spirituall meate and spiritually to be eaten and bi that refreshing to giue eternall lyfe which he doth to none but to suche as be his lyuely membres And of this eatinge speaketh also Basilius that we eate Christes flesh and drinke his blud beynge made by hys incarnation and sensyble lyfe partakers of his worde and wysedome For his fleshe and bludde he called all his mysticall conuersation here in his fleshe and his doctrine consistinge of his whole lyfe pertaininge bothe to his humanitie and diuinitye whereby the soule is norished and brought to the contemplacion of thinges eternall Thus teacheth Basilius howe we eate Christes flesh and drinke his blud which pertaineth only to the true and faithful membres of Christ. Saint hierome also saith All that loue pleasure more than god eate not the fleshe of Iesu nor drinke his bludde of the whiche himselfe saith He that eateth my fleshe and drinketh my blud hath euerlastynge lyfe And in an other place S. Hierome saith that heretiques do not eat and drynk the body and bludde of the Lorde And moreouer he saithe that heretiques eate not the fleshe of Iesu whose flesh is the meate of faythfull men Thus agreeth S. Hierome with the other before rehersed that heretiques and such as folow wordly pleasures eat not Christs flesh nor drink his blud bicause that Christ said He that eateth my flesh drinketh mi blud hath euerlastīg life And S. Ambrose saith that Iesus is y e bread which is the meat of Saintes and that he that taketh this breade dieth not a sinners deathe For this breade is the remission of sinnes And in an other booke to him intituled he writeth thus This breade of lyfe whiche came frome heauen doth minister euerlasting life and whosoeuer eateth this bread shall not dye for euer and is the bodye of Christe And yet in an other booke sette forth in his name he saith on this wise He that did eat Manna died but he that eateth this body shal haue remission of his synnes and shall not dye for euer And againe he saith As oftē as thou drinkest thou haste remission of thy sinnes These sentences of S. Ambrose be so playne in this matter that there needeth no more but only the rehersall of theim But S. Augustine in many places plainlye discussing this mattier saith He that agreeth not with Christe doeth neither eate his bodye nor drinke his bludde although to the condemnation of hys presumptiō he receiue euery day the sacramente of so highe a mattier And moreouer S. Augustine most plainly resolueth this matter in his booke De ciuitate Dei disputīg agaīst two kinds of heretiques Wherof the one said that as many as were christened and receaued the sacrament of Christs body and bludde shuld be saued howe so euer thei liued or beleued bicause that Christe saide This is the breade that came frō heauē that whosoeuer shal eate thereof shall not dye I am the bread of life which came from heauen whosoeuer shall eate of this breade shall lyue for euer Therfore said these heretiques all such men must needes be deliuered from eternall deathe and at length to be brought to eternall life The other said that heretiques and scismatiques myghte eate the sacrament of Chrystes bodye but not his verye body bicause they be no membres of his bodye And therfore they promised not euerlasting life to all that receaued Christes baptisme and the sacrament of his body but all suche as professed a true fayth althoughe they lyued neuer so vngodlye For suche sayde they doo eate the bodye of Christe not only in a sacrament but also in deede bicause they bee membres of Christes body But Saint Augustine aunsweringe to bothe these heresyes saith That neither heretiques nor such as professe a true fayth in their mouths in their lyuyng shew the contrary haue either a true faith which worketh by charity and doth none euel or are to be counted among the membres of Christ. For they cā not be both membres of Christ and membres of the diuell Therefore saith he it maye not be saide that any of theim eate the bodye of Christe For when Christe saythe he that eateth my flesh and drinketh my bludde dwelleth in me and I in him he sheweth what it is not sacramentally but in deede to eate his bodye and drynke his bludde whiche is when a man dwelleth in Christe that Christ dwelleth in him For Christe spake those wordes as if he should say He that dwelleth not in me and in whom I dwell not lette him not saye or thinke that he eateth my body or drinketh my bloode These be the plaine wordes of S. Augustine that suche as liue vngodly although they may seme to eate Christes body because they eat the sacrament of his body yet in deede they neither bee membres of his body nor do eate his body Also vpon the gospel of sainct Ihon he sayth that he that doth not eate his fleshe and drynke his bloud hath not in him euerlastyng life And he that eateth his fleshe and drynketh his bloud hath euerlastyng life But it is not so in those meates whiche we take to sustayne our bodyes For although without them we can not liue yet it is not necessarye that whosoeuer receyueth them
the sacramentall bread and wyne or any vysyble thynge is to bee woorshypped in the Sacrament For sainct Augustynes mynde was so farre from any suche thought that hee forbyddeth vtterly to woorship Christes owne fleshe and bloud alone but in consideracion and as they bee annexed and ioyned to his diuinitee Howe muche lesse than could he thynke or allowe that we should worshyp the sacramentall bread and wyne or any outwarde or visible sacrament whiche bee shadowes figures and representacions of Christes very fleshe and bloudde And saynt Augustin was afrayde lest in worshyppyng of Christes very body we shoulde offende and therfore he byddeth vs whan we worshyp Christe that we shoulde not tarry and fixe our myndes vpon his fleshe whyche of it self auayleth nothyng but that we shuld lyfte vp but our myndes from the fleshe to the spirite whiche giueth lyfe and yet the Papistes be not afrayde by crafty meanes to induce vs to worship those thynges whyche be signes and sacramentes of Christes bodye But what wyl not the shamelesse Papistes alledge for theyr purpose whan they be not ashamed to maynteyne the adoration of the Sacrament by these wordes of saynt Augustins wherin he Speaketh not one word of the adoration of the sacrament but onely of Christe hym selfe And although he saie that Christe gaue his fleshe to be eaten of vs yet he ment not that his fleshe is here corporally presente and corporally eaten but onely spiritually As his wordes declare playnly whyche folowe in the same place where saynt Augustine as it were in the persone of Christe speaketh these wordes It is the spirite that geueth lyfe but the fleshe profiteth nothynge The wordes whiche I haue spoken vnto you be spirite and lyfe That whiche I haue spoken vnderstande you spiritually You shall not eate this body which you se and drynke that blud whyche they shall shedde that shall crucifie me I haue commended vnto you a sacramente vnderstande it spiritually and it shall geue you lyfe And although it must bee visibly minystred yet it muste be inuisibly vnderstande These wordes of sayncte Augustine with the other before recited do expresse his mynd playnlye that Christe is not otherwyse to bee eaten than spiritually whyche spirituall eatynge requyreth no corporall presence and that he intended not to teache heere any adoration eyther of the visible sacramentes or of any thyng that is corporally in them For in dede there is nothyng really and corporally in the bread to be worshipped although the Papistes say that Christe is in euery consecrated breade But our Sauiour Christe hym selfe hath geuen vs warnyng before hande that suche false christians and false teachers shoulde come and hath bydde vs to beware of them sayeng If any man telle you that Christe is here or Christe is there beleue hym not For there shall ryse false Christes and false prophetes and shall shew many signes and wonders so that if it were possyble the verye electe shoulde bee broughte into erroure Take heede I haue tolde you before hande Thus our Sauiour Christe lyke a moste louynge pastour and sauioure of our soules hath gyuen vs warnyng before hande of the perylles and daungers that were to come and to bee wise and ware that we shoulde not geue credite vnto suche teachers as woulde perswade vs to worshyppe a peece of breade to kneele to it to knocke to it to creepe to it to folowe it in Procession to lyfte vp our handes to it to offer to it to lyght candels to it to shut it vp in a cheste or boxe to dooe all other honoure vnto it more than we dooe vnto God hauynge alwaye this pretence or excuse for our Idolatrie Beholde here is Christe But oure sauiour Christe calleth theym false Prophetes and saieth Take heede I tell you before Beleue theym not If they saie to you Beholde Christe is abrode or in the wyldernesse go not out And if they say that he is kepte in close places beleue them not And yf you wyll aske me the question who be those false Prophetes and seducers of the people the aunswere is soone made The Romishe Antichristes and theyr adherentes the authors of all errour ignorance blyndenesse superstition hypocrisie and ydolatrie For Innocentius the thyrd one of the moste wycked men that euer was in the sea of Rome dyd ordeyne and decree that the hoste should be diligently kept vnder locke and keye And Honorius the thirde not only confirmed the same but commanded also that the priestes shulde diligently teache the people from tyme to tyme that whan they lyfted vp the breadde called the hoste the people should then reuerently bowe downe and that lykewyse they shoulde do whan the prieste carrieth the hoste vnto sycke folkes These be the statutes and ordynances of Rome vnder pretence of holynesse to leade the people vnto all errour and Idolatrie not bryngynge theym by breadde vnto Christe but from Christe vnto bread But all that loue and beleeue Christe hym selfe lette theym not thynke that Christe is corporally in the breadde but lette theym lyfte vp theyr hartes vnto heauen and woorshyp hym syttyng there at the ryght hande of his Father Lette theym worshyp hym in them selues whose temples they bee in whome hee dwelleth and lyueth spiritually but in no wyse let them worshyp hym as beynge corporally in the breadde For he is not in it neyther spiritually as he is in manne nor corporally as hee is in heauen but onely sacramentally as a thynge maye bee sayde to bee in the fygure whereby it is sygnyfyed Thus is sufficientely reproued the thyrde pryncipall errour of the Papistes concernynge the Lordes supper whyche is That wycked membres of the deuyl do eate Christes very bodye and drynke his bloude Thus endeth the fowerth booke THE FIFTH BOKE IS OF THE OBLATION AND SACRIfice of our Sauiour Christe The greatest blasphemye iniury that can be against Christe yet uniuersally vsed through the Popishe kyngdom is this that the priestes make their Masse a sacrifice propitiatory to remit the synnes aswell of theim selues as of other both quicke and dead to whō they list to apply the same Thus vnder pretence of holynes the Papistical priestes haue taken vpon them to be Christes successours and to make suche an oblacion and sacrifice as neuer creature made but Christe alone neither he made the same any mo tymes than ones and that was by his death vpon the crosse For as sainct Paule in his Epistle to the Hebrues witnesseth Although the high priestes of the olde lawe offered many tymes at the least euery yere ones yet Christe offereth not him selfe many tymes for then he should many tymes haue dyed But nowe he offereth him selfe but ones to take awaye synne by that offeryng of him selfe And as menne must dye ones so was Christ offered ones to take awaye the synnes of many And furthermore S. Paule sayth That the sacrifices of the olde lawe although they were contynually offered
say that they dyd eate his body drunke his bloud although he was not yet borne nor incarnated They say that the body of Christ is euery day many tymes made as often as there be Masses sayd that than and there he is made of bread and wyne We say that Christes body was neuer but ones made and than not of the nature and substance of bread and wyne but of the substance of his blessed mother Thei say that the Masse is a sacrifice satisfactory for sinne by the deuocion of the priest that offereth not by the thyng that is offered But we say that their saiyng is a most haynous lye detestable error against the glory of Christ. For the satisfactiō for our synnes is not the deuociō nor offeryng of the priest but the only hoost and satisfaction for all the sinnes of the world is the death of Christ the oblacion of his body vpon the crosse that is to say the oblacion that Christ him selfe offered ones vpon the crosse and neuer but ones nor neuer none but he And therfore that oblation whiche the priestes make dayly in their papistical Masses can not be a satisfactiō for other mens synnes by the priestes deuocion but it is a mere elusion and subtyll craft of the deuil wherby Antichrist hath many yeres blynded and deceiued the worlde They say that Christe is corporally in many places at one tyme affirmyng that his body is corporally and really present in as many places as there be hoostes consecrated We say that as the sonne corporally is euer in heauen and no where els and yet by his operation and vertue the Sonne is here in yearth by whose influence and vertue all thynges in the worlde be corporally regenerated encreased and growe to their perfecte state so lykewise oure sauiour Christe bodely and corporally is in heauen sittyng at the right hande of his father although spiritually he hath promised to be present with vs vpō yearth vnto the worldes ende And whansoeuer two or thre be gathered together in his name he is there in the myddes among them by whose supernal grace all godly menne bee first by him spiritually regenerated and after encreace and growe to their spiritual perfection in God spiritually by fayth eatyng his fleshe and drinkyng his bloud although the same corporally bee in heauen farre distant from our sight Nowe to returne to the principal matter lest it might bee thought a newe deuise of vs that Christe as concernyng his body his humayne nature is in heauen and not in yearth therfore by Gods grace it shal be euidently proued ▪ that this is no newe deuised matter but that it was euer the olde fayth of the catholike churche vntyll the Papistes inuented a newe fayth that Christ really corporally naturally and sensibly is here styll with vs in yearth shut vp in a boxe or within the compasse of bread and wyne This nedeth no better nor strōger profe than that whiche the old authors bryng for the same that is to say the generall profession of all christian people in the common Crede wherein as concernyng Christes humanitee thei be taught to beleue after this sorte That he was conceiued by the holy ghost borne of the virgyn Mary that he suffered vnder Pontius Pilate was crucified dead and buryed that he descended into hell and rose againe the third day that he ascended into heauen and sitteth at the right hand of his almightie father and from thence shal come to iudge the quicke and dead This hath been euer the catholyke fayth of christian people that Christ as concernyng his body and his manhood is in heauen and shall there continue vntyll he come doune at the last iudgement And forasmuche as the Crede maketh so expresse mencion of the article of his ascencion and departyng hence from vs if it had been an other article of oure fayth that his body taryeth also here with vs in yearth surely in this place of the Crede was so vrgēt an occasion geuen to make some mention therof that doutlesse it would not haue been passed ouer in our Crede with silence For i◠Christe as concernyng his humanitee be both here gone hence and both those two be articles of our fayth whan mencion was made of the one in the Crede it was necessary to make mencion of the other least by professyng the one we should be dissuaded from beleuyng the other beyng so contrarye the one to the other To this article of oure Crede accordeth holy scripture and all the olde auncient doctours of Christes churche For Christe himselfe saide I leaue the worlde and go to my father And also he saide You shall euer haue poore folkes with you but you shall not euer haue me with you And he gaue warninge of this errour beefore hande saying That the tyme wolde come whan many deceiuers shulde be in the worlde and saye Here is Christe and there is Christe but beleue theim not said Christ. And S. Marke writeth in the last chapiter of his gospell that y e Lorde Iesus was taken vp into heauen and sytteth at the ryghte hande of his father And S. Paule exhorteth all men to seeke for thinges that be aboue in heauen where Christe sayth he sitteth at the ryght hand of God hys father Also he saith that we haue such a bishop that sitteth in heauē at the ryght hand of the throne of Gods maiesty And that he hauing offred one sacrifice for sinnes sitteth continuallye at the right hande of God vntyll his enemyes be put vnder his feete as a foote stoole And herevnto consent all the olde doctoures of the churche Fyrste Origen vpon Mathew reasoneth this matter howe Christe maye be called a stranger that is departed into an other cūtrey seing that he is with vs alwai vnto the worldes end and is among al them that be gathered togither in his name and also in the middes of them that know him not And thus he reasoneth If he be here among vs stil how can he be gone hence as a strāger departed into an other contrey Wherevnto he answereth that Christe is both god and man hauinge in him two natures And as a manne he is not with vs vnto the worldes ende nor is present wyth all hys faythfull that bee gathered togyther in his name but his diuyne power and spirite is euer with vs. Paule saith he was absent from the Corinthes in his body when he was present wyth them in his spirite So is CHRIST sayth he gone hense and absent in his humanitee whiche in his diuine nature is euery where And in this saying saith Origene we diuide not his humanitee for S. Iohn writeth that no spirite that diuideth Iesus can be of God but we reserue to both his natures their owne properties In these wordes Origene hath plainly declared his mind that Christes body is not both present here with vs also
shall liue for they may dye for age sickenes or other chaunces But in this meat and drynke of the body and bloud of our Lord it is otherwise For both thei that eate and drynke them not haue not euerlastyng life And contrary wyse whosoeuer eate and drynke them haue euerlastyng life Note and ponder well these wordes of sainct Augustyne that the bread and wyne and other meates and drynkes whiche norishe the body a man may eate neuerthelesse dye but the very body and bloud of Christ no mā eateth but that hath euerlastyng life So that wicked men can not eate nor drynke them for then they must nedes haue by them euerlastyng life And in thesame place sainct Augustyne sayth further The sacrament of the vnite of Christes body and bloud is taken in the Lordes table of some men to life of some men to death but the thyng it selfe wherof it is a sacrament is taken of all men to life and of no man to death And moreouer he sayth This is to eate that meate and drynke that drynke to dwell in Christ to haue Christ dwellyng in him And for that cause he that dwelleth in him And for that cause he that dwelleth not in Christe and in whom Christe dwelleth not without doubt he eateth not spiritually his fleshe nor drynketh his bloud although carnally and visibly with his teethe he byte the sacrament of his body and bloud Thus wryteth sainct Augustyne in the xxvi Homelie of sainct Ihon. And in the next homelie folowyng he sayth thus This day our sermon is of the body of the Lorde whiche he sayd he would geue to eate for eternal life And he declared the maner of his gift distribution howe he would geue his fleshe to eate saiyng He that eateth my fleshe drynketh my bloud dwelleth in me and I in him This therefore is a token or knowlege that a man hath eaten and dronken that is to say if he dwell in Christe and haue Christe dwellyng in him If he cleaue so to Christe that he is not seuered from him This therfore Christe taught admonished by these misticall or figuratiue Wordes that we should be in his body vnder him our head among his membres eatyng his fleshe not forsakyng his vnitee And in his boke De doctrina Christiana sainct Augustyne sayth as before is at length declared that to eate Christes flesh and to drynk his blud is a figuratiue speache signifiyng the participation of his passion the delectable remembrance to our benefite and profite that his fleshe was crucified and wounded for vs. And in another sermō also De verbis Apostoli he expoundeth what is the eatyng of Christes body the drinkyng of his bloud saiyng The eatyng is to be refreshed and the drinkyng what is it but to liue Eate life drinke life And that shall be when that whiche is taken visibly in the sacrament is in very deede eaten spiritually and drunken spiritually By all these sentences of S. Augustyne it is euident manifest that all men good and euil may with their mouthes visibly sensibly eate the sacrament of Christes body bloud but the very body and bloud them selues bee not eaten but spiritually that of the spirituall membres of Christ whiche dwell in Christ haue Christ dwellyng in them by whom they be refreshed haue euerlastyng life And therefore sayth sainct Augustyne that when thother Apostles did eate bread that was the Lorde yet Iudas did eate but the bread of the Lorde and not the bread that was the Lorde So that the other Apostles with the sacramentall bread did eate also Christ him selfe whō Iudas did not eate And a great numbre of places moe hath sainct Augustyne for this purpose whiche for eschewyng of tediousnes I let passe for this tyme wyll speake some thyng of sainct Cyrill Cyrill vpon sainct Ihon is Gospell sayth that those whiche eate Manna dyed because thei receyued thereby no strength to liue euer for it gaue no life but only put away bodely hunger but they that receyue the bread of lyfe shalbe made immortal and shall eschewe all the euils that partayne to death liuyng with Christ for euer And in another place he sayth Forasmuche as the fleshe of them to Christe doth naturally geue life therefore it maketh lyfe that bee partakers of it For it putteth death awaye from them and vtterly dryueth destruction out of them And he concludeth the matter shortly in another place in fewe woordes saiyng that when wee eate the fleshe of our sauiour then haue wee life in vs. For if thynges that were corrupt were restored by onely touchyng of his clothes howe can it bee that wee shall not liue that eate his fleshe And further he sayth that as two waxes that be molten together do rūne euery part into other so he that receyueth Christes fleshe and bloud must needes be ioyned so with him that Christ must be in him and he in Christ. Here sainct Cyrill declareth the dignitee of Christes fleshe beyng inseperately annexed vnto his diuinitee saiyng that it is of suche force and power that it geueth euerlastyng life And whatsoeuer occasion of death it fyndeth or let of eternal life it putteth out and dryueth cleane away all the same frō them that eate that meate and receiue that medicine Other medicines or plaisters somtyme heale and somtyme heal not but this medicine is of that effect and strength that it eateth awaye all rotten and deade fleshe and perfectely healeth all woundes and sores that it is laide vnto This is the dignitie and excellencie of Christes fleshe and bloode ioyned to his diuinitie of the whyche dignytie Christes aduersaries the Papistes depriue and robbe him when they affirme that suche men do eate his fleshe receiue this plaister as remaine styll sicke and sore and be not holpen thereby And now for corroboration of Cyrils saying I would thus reason with the Papistes and demaunde of them When an vnrepentant synner receiueth the sacrament whether he haue Christes body within him or no If they saye no than haue I my purpose that euel men although they receaue the sacramente of Christes body yet receiue they not his verye body Yf they saye yea Then I wolde aske them further Whether they haue Christs spirit with in them or no If they say nay then do they separate Christs body from his spirite and his humanitye frome his diuinite and be condemned by the scripture as very Antichristes that diuide Christe And yf they say yea that a wicked man hathe Christes spirit in him then the scripture also cōdemneth them saying that as he which hath no spirite of Christes is none of his so he that hathe Christe in him lyueth because he is iustified And yf his spirite that raised Iesus from death dwell in you he that raised Christe from death shall gyue lyfe to your mortall bodyes for his spirits sake whiche dwelleth in you Thus on
body and blud is not receaued in the mouthe and digested in the stomacke as corporall meates and drynkes commonly bee but it is receaued with a pure harte and a sincere faithe And the trewe eatyng and drinking of the sayd body and bloude of Christ ys wyth a constant and a lyuely faith to beeleue that Chryste gaue hys bodye and shedde hys bloude vppon the Crosse for vs and that he doeth so ioyne and incorporate himselfe to vs that hee is our heade and wee his membrâ—s and fleshe of his fleshe and bone of his bones hauinge hym dwellynge in vs and wee in hym And herein standeth the whole effecte and strength of this sacrament And this faith God woorketh in wardely in our hartes by hys holy spirite and confyrmeth the same outwardly to our eares by hearinge of hys woorde and to our other senses by eatynge and drynkynge of the sacramentall breade and wyne in hys holy supper What thynge then can be more comfortable to vs than to eate thys meate and drynke thys drynke Wherby Christ certyfyeth vs that we bee spirytually and trewely fedde and nouryshed by hym and that wee dwell in hym and he in vs. Canne this bee shewed vnto vs more playnly than whan he saith hym selfe He that eateth me shall lyue by me Wherfore whosoeuer doth not contemne the euerlasting lyfe how can he but highely esteme this sacrament How can he but imbrace it as a sure pledge of his saluacion And whan hee seeth godly people deuoutly receaue the same howe can he but be desyrous oftentymes to receiue it with them Surely no man that wel vnderstandeth and diligently wayeth these things can bee without a greate desire to come to thys holy supper All men desyre to haue goddes fauoure and when they knowe the contrary that they be in his indignacion and caste out of his fauoure what thinge can comforte them Nowe be theyr myndes vexed What trouble is in their consciences All goddes creatures seme to be against them and do make theym afraide as thinges being ministers of goddes wrath and indignacion towards them And rest and comfort caÌ„ they finde none neither within them not withoute them And in this case thei do hate as well God as the diuel God as an vnmerciful and extreme iudge and the dyuell as a moste malicious and â—ruel tormentour And in this sorowful heauines holy scripture teacheth theim that our heauenly father can by no meanes be pleased with theim againe but by the sacrifice and deathe of his only begotten sonne whereby God hathe made a perpetuall amitee and peace with vs doth pardon the sinnes of them that beleue in him maketh theim his chyldren giueth them to his first begotten son Christe to be incorporate into him to be saued by him and to be made heires of heuen with him And in the receauing of the holy supper of our Lorde wee bee putte in remembraunce of this his deathe and of the whole mysterye of our redemption In the which supper is made mention of his testamente and of the aforesayde Communion of vs with Christe and of the remission of oure sinnes by his sacrifice vppon the crosse Wherefore in this sacrament yf it be rightly receaued with a true faithe we bee assured that our sinnes bee forgiuen and the leage of peace and the testament of God is confirmed betwene hym and vs so that who so euer by a true faithe doth eate Christes flesh and drinke his bludde hath euerlastinge lyfe by hym Whiche thynge when wee feele in oure hartes at the receauynge of the Lordes supper what thing can be more ioyfull more plesaunte or more comfortable vnto vs All this to bee trewe is moste certaine by the woordes of Christe hym selfe whanne hee dydde fyrst institute his holy supper the nyght beefore his deathe as it appeareth as well by the woordes of the Euangelistes as of S. Paule Dooe thys saythe Christe as often as you drynke it in remembraunce of me And Saint Paule saithe As often as you eate this breade and drynke this cuppe you shall shewe the Lordes death vntyll he come And againe Christ saide This cup is a newe testament in mine owne bloud whiche shal be shed for the remission of sinnes This doctrine here recited maye suffice for all that be humble and godly and seek nothing that is superfluous but that is necessarye and profitable And therefore vnto suche persones may bee made here an ende of this booke But vnto them that be contencious Papists ydolaters nothing is enough And yet bicause thei shall not glory in their subtile inuencions and deceiuable doctrine as though no man were able to answere them I shall desire the readers of pacience to suffre me a litell while to spend some time in vaine to confute their most vaine vanities And yet the time shall not bee altogither spent in vaine for there by shall more clearly appeare the lyghte frome the darkenes the truth from false sophisticall subtelties and the certaine word of God from mens dreames and phantasticall inuentions BUt these things can not manifestly appear to the reader except the principall pointes be first set out wherin the Papistes vary froÌ„ the truth of Gods worde whiche be chiefely fower Fyrst the Papisâ—s say that in the supper of the Lorde after the words of consecracion as they call it there is none other substaunce remaynyng but the substaunce of Christes fleshe and blud so that there remaineth neither bread to be eaten nor wyne to be dronken And althoughe there be the colour of bread wyne the sauour the smell the bygnes the fashion and all other as they call them accidentes or qualities and quaÌ„tities of bread and wyne yet say they there is no very bread nor wyne but they bee turned into the fleshe bloud of Christ. And this coÌ„uersion they call Transubstantion that is to say turnyng of one substaÌ„ce into another substaÌ„ce And although all the accidentes bothe of the bread and wyne remayne styl yet say they the same accidentes be in no maner of thyng but hang alone in the ayre without any thyng to stay them vpon For in the body and bloud of Christ say they these accidentes can not be nor yet in the ayre for the body and bloud of Christ and the ayre be neither of that bignes fashion smell nor colour that they bread and wyne be Nor in the bread and wyne say they these accidentes can not be for the substaÌ„ce of bread and wyne as they affirme be cleane gone And so there remaineth whitnes but nothing is white there remayneth colours but nothing is coloured therwith there remaineth roundnes but no thyng is round and there is bygnes and yet no thyng is bygge there is swetenes without any swete thyng softnes without any soft thyng breakyng without any thyng broken diuision without any thyng deuided and so other qualities quantities witout any thyng to receyue them And this doctrin they teache
of the Lordes bodye And by and by foloweth So many hostes muste bee offered in the altare as wyll suffice for the people And yf any remayn they must not be kept vntill the mornyng but be spent and consumed of the clearkes with feare and tremblynge And they that consume the residue of the Lordes bodye may not by and by take other common meates least they shoulde mixte that holy portion with the meate which is dygested by the bealy and auoyded by the foundament Therfore if the Lordes portion bee eaten in the mornynge the ministers that consume it must faste vnto sixe of the clocke and if thei do take it at thre or four of the clocke the minister must fast vntyl the euenyng Thus much writeth Clement of this matter If the Epistle which they alledge were Clementes as in dede it is not But they haue fayned many thynges in other mennes names thereby to stablyshe their fayned purposes But whose so euer the Epistle was if it be throughly consydered it maketh muche more agaynst the Papâ—stes than for their pourpose For by the same Epistle appereth euidently thre speciall thyngs against the errours of the Papistes The fyrst is that the breade in the sacramente is called the Lordes body and the peeces of the broken bread be called the peeces and fragmentes of the Lordes body whyche can not bee vnderstande but fyguratiuely The seconde is that the bread oughte not to be reserued and hanged vp as the Papistes euery where doo vse The third is that the priests ought not to receyue the sacrament alone as the Papistes commonly do makyng a sale therof vnto the people but they ought to coÌ„municate with the people And here it is diligently to bee noted that we ought not vnreuerently and vnaduisedly to approche vnto the meate of the Lordes table as we doo to other common meates and drynkes but with great feare and dreade least we shulde come to that holy table vnworthely wherein is not onely represented but also spirytually geuen vnto vs very CHRISTE hym selfe And therfore we ought to come to that boord of the Lorde with all reuerence faythe loue and charitee feare and dread accordyng to the same Here I passeouer Ignatius and Ireneus whiche make nothyng for the Papistes opinions but stand in the commendacion of the holy Communion and in exhortacion of all men to the often and godly receiuyng therrof And yet neither they nor no manne els can extolle and coÌ„mende the same sufficiently accordyng to the dignitee therof if it bee godly vsed as it ought to be Dionysius also whom they allege to praise extoll this sacrament as in dede it is most worthy beyng a sacrament of moste high dignitee and perfection representyng vnto vs our moste perfect spiritual coniunction vnto Christ oure continual norishyng feadyng comforte spiritual life in him yet he neuer sayd that the fleshe and bloud of Christ was in the bread and wyne really corporally sensibly and naturally as the Papistes wold beare vs in hand but he calleth euer the bread and wyne signes pledges and tokens declaryng vnto the faythfull receiuers of the same that they receiue Christ spiritually and that they spiritually eate his flesh drynke his bloud And although the bread and wyne bee the figures signes and tokens of Christes fleshe and bloud as sainct Dionyse calleth them bothe before the consecracion and after yet the Greke annotations vpon the same Dionyse do say that the very thynges them selfes be aboue in heauen And as the same Dionyse maketh nothing for the Papistes opinions in this point of Christes reall and corporall presence so in diuers other things he maketh quite and clean against them and that specially in thre pointes In transubstantiation in reseruacion of the sacrament and in the receauinge of the same by the priest alone Furthermore they do alleage Tertulian that hee constantly affirmeth that in the sacramente of the altare we do eate the body and drinke the blud of our sauiour Christ. To whoÌ„ we graunte that our flesh eateth and drinketh the bread and wyne whiche be called the bodye and bloude of Christ bicause as Tertulian saith they do represent his body and bloude although they bee not really the same in very deed And we graunt also that oure soules by faith do eate his verye body and drinke his bludde but that is spiritually suckinge out of the same euerlastinge lyfe But we deny that vnto this spirituall feedinge is required any reall and corporall presence And therefore this Tertulian speaketh nothinge against the truthe of our catholicke doctrine but he speaketh many thinges most plainly for vs and against the Papistes and specially in thre pointes Firste in that he saithe that Christe called breade his body The second that Christ called it so bycause it representeth his bodye The thirde in that he saithe that by these wordes of Christe This is my bodye is mente This is a figure of my body Moreouer they allege for theym Origen because they would seeme to haue many aunciente authors fauourers of their erronious doctrine whiche Origen is moste clearely against them For although hee do saye as they allege that those things which before were signified by obscure figures be nowe truely in dede and in theyr very nature and kinde accomplished and fulfilled And for the declaration therof he bringeth forth thre examples One of the stone that floweth water an other of the sea and cloude and the thirde of Manna whiche in the olde testamente did signifie Christ to come who is now come in deed and is manifested and exhibited vnto vs as it were face to face and sensibly in his worde in the sacrament of regeneracion and in the sacramentes of breade and wine Yet Origene mente not that Christ is corporally either in his worde or in the water of baptime or in the breade and wine nor that we carnally and corporally be regenerated and borne againe or eate Christes flesh blood For our regeneracion in Christ is spiritual and our eating and drinking is a spirituall feeding which kinde of regeneration and feeding requireth no real and corporall presence of Christ but onlye his presence in spirite grace and effectuall operacion And that Origen thus mente that Christes fleshe is a spirituall meate and his bludde a spirituall drinke and that the eating and drynkinge of his fleshe and bloude maye not bee vnderstande literallye but spirytually it is manifested by Origenes owne woordes in his seuenth homylye vppon the booke called Leuiticus where hee sheweth that those wordes must bee vnderstande figuratiuely and who so euer vnderstandeth theim otherwise they bee deceaued and take harme by their owne grosse vnderstandinge And likewise ment Cypriane in those places whiche the aduersaries of the truthe alleadge of hym concernynge the true eatinge of Christes very fleshe and drinkinge of his bludde For Cyprian spake of no grosse and carnal eatinge with the mouth but of an inward
Adam is spirituall therefore our generation by hym muste be spirituall our feedyng muste bee lykewise spirituall And our spirituall generation by hym is playnly set forth in baptisme and our spirituall meate and foode is set foorth in the holy Cōmunion supper of the Lorde And because our sightes bee so feble that we cannot see the spiritual water wherwith we be washed in baptisme nor the spiritual meat wherwith we be fedde at the Lordes table therfore to healpe oure infirmities and to make vs the better to see the same with a pure fayth our sauiour Christ hath set furth the same as it were before our eyes by sensible signes and tokens whiche we be daily vsed and accustomed vnto And because the common custome of men is to washe in water therfore our spiritual regeneration in Christe or spirituall washyng in his blud is declared vnto vs in baptisme by water Lykewise oure spiritual norishement feadyng in Christ is sette before oure eyes by bread and wyne because they be meates and drynkes whiche chiefly and vsually we be fedde withal that as they feade the body so doth Christe with his fleshe and bloud spiritually feade the soule And therefore the bread and wyne bee called examples of Christes fleshe and bloud and also they be called his very fleshe and blode to signifie vnto vs that as they feade vs carnally so do they admonishe vs that Christe with his fleshe and bloud doth feade vs spiritually and moste truely vnto euerlastyng life And as almyghty God by his moste myghty worde and his hollye spirite and infinite power brought forth all creatures in the begynnyng and euer sithens hath preserued theym euen so by the same worde and power he woorketh in vs from time to tyme this meruailous spiritual generation wonderfull spirituall norishment feedyng which is wrought onely by God and is comprehended and receiued of vs by fayth And as bread and drynke by natural norishement be chaunged into a mannes body and yet the body is not chaunged but the same that it was before so although the bread and wyne be sacramentally chaunged into Christes body yet his body is the same and in the same place that it was before that is to say in heauen without any alteracion of the same And the bread and wyne bee not so chaunged into the fleshe and bloud of Christ that they bee made one nature but they remayne styll distinct in nature so that the bread in it selfe is not his fleshe the wyne his bloud but vnto them that worthely eate and drinke the bread and wyne to them the bread and wyne be his flesh and bloud that is to say by thynges naturall and whiche they be accustomed vnto they bee exalted vnto thynges aboue nature For y ◠sacramental bread and wyne be not base and naked figures but so pithy and effectuous that whosoeuer worthely eateth them eateth spiritually Christes fleshe and bloud and hath by them euerlastyng life Wherfore whosoeuer cōmeth to the Lordes table must come with all humilitee feare reuerence and puritie of life as to receiue not onely bread and wyne but also our sauior Christ both God and man with al his benefites to the relief and sustētacion both of their bodies and soules This is briefly the summe and true meanyng of Damascene concernyng this matter Wherfore they that gather of hym either the natural presence of Christes body in the sacramētes of bread and wyne or the adoration of the outward and visible sacrament or that after the cōsecracion there remayneth no bread nor wyne nor other substaunce but onely the substaunce of the body and bloude of Christe eyther they vnderstand not Damascen or els of wilful frowardnes they wyll not vnderstande hym whyche rather seemeth to bee true by suche collections as they haue vniustly gathered noted out of him For although he say that Christe is the spirituall meate yet as in baptisme the holy ghost is not in the water but in hym that is vnfaynedly baptised so Damascene ment not y t Christ is in the bread but in hym y t worthily eateth the bred And though he say that the bread is Christes body and the wyne his bloud yet he mente not that the bread considered in it selfe or the wyne in it selfe beyng not receyued is his fleshe and bloud but to suche as by vnfayned faith woorthely receyue the breade and wyne to suche the breade and wyne are called by Damascene the body and bloude of Christe bycause that suche persons through the workyng of the holy gost be so knytte and vnited spirituallye to Christes fleshe and bloude and to his diuinitee also that they bee fedde with them vnto euerlastyng life Furthermore Damascene sayeth not that the sacrament should be worshipped and adored as the Papistes terme it whiche is playne ydolatrye but we must worship Christ God and man And yet we may not worship him in bread and wyne but sittyng in heauen with his father and beyng spiritually within our selues Nor he sayeth not that there remayneth no bread nor wyne nor none other substaunce but onely the substaunce of the body and bloud of Christe but he sayeth playnely that as a burnyng coale is not wodde onely but fyre wodde ioyned together so the bread of the Cōmunion is not bread onely but bread ioyned to the diuinitee But those that say that there is none other substance but the substāce of the body and bloud of Christe doo not onely denye that there is bread and wyne but by force they must denye also that there is either Christes diuinitee or his soule For if the fleshe and bloud the soule and diuinitee of Christe bee foure substances and in the sacrament be but two of them that is to say his fleshe and bloud than where be his soule and diuinitee And thus these men diuide Iesus separatyng his diuinitee from his humanitee Of whom sainct Ihon sayeth Whosoeuer diuideth Iesus is not of God but he is Antichrist And moreouer these men do so separate Christes body from his membres in the sacrament that they leaue hym no mans body at all For as Damascene saith that the distinction of membres pertayne so muche to the nature of a mannes body that where there is no suche distinction there is no perfecte mans body But by these Papistes doctrine there is no suche distinction of membres in the sacramente for eyther there is no head fete handes armes legges mouthe eyes and nose at all or elles all is heade all feete all handes all armes all legges all mouthe all eyes and all nose And so they make of Christes body no mannes bodye at all Thus beynge confuted the Papistes errours as well concernyng Transubstantiation as the reall corporall and natural presence of Christ in the sacrament whiche were two principall pointes purposed in the begynnyng of this woorke Nowe it is tyme som thyng to speke of the third errour of the Papistes whyche is concernynge the
eatynge of CHRISTES very bodye and drynkyng of his bloude Thus endeth the thirde booke THE FOVRTH BOOKE IS OF THE EATYNG AND DRINKYNG OF the body and bloud of our Sauiour Christe THE GROSSE errour of the Papistes is of the carnal eatyng and drynkyng of Christes fleshe bloud with our mouthes For they say that whosoeuer eate and drynke the sacramentes of bread and wyne do eate and drynk also with their mouthes Christes very fleshe and bloud be they neuer so vngodly and wicked persons But Christ hym selfe taughte cleane contrary in the .vi. of Iohn y t we eate not hym carnally with our mouths but spiritually with our faith saiyng Uerely verely I say vnto you he y t beleueth in me hath euerlastiÌ„g life I am y e bread of life Your fathers did eate Manna in the wildernes and died This is the bread that cam froÌ„ heauen that who so euer shall eate therof shall not dye I am the liuely bread that cam from heuen If any man eate of this bread he shal lyue for euer And the bread whiche I wyll geue is my fleshe whyche I wyll geue for the lyfe of the worlde This is the moste trewe doctrine of our sauiour Christe that who so euer eateth hym shall haue euerlasting life And by and by it foloweth in the same place of Iohn more cleerely Ueryly verely I say vnto you except you eate the fleshe of the sonne of man and drynke his bloud you shall not haue lyfe in you He that eateth my fleshe and drynketh my bloud hath lyfe euerlastyng and I wyll rayse hym agayne at the laste daye For my fleshe is very meate and my bloudde is very drynke He that eateth my fleshe and drynketh my bloud dwelleth in me and I in hym As the lyuyng father hath sente me and I lyue by the father euen so he that eateth me shal lyue by me This is the bread whiche came downe from heauen not as your fathers dyd eate Manna and are dead he that eateth of this bread shall lyue for euer This taught our sauiour Christe as well his disciples as the Iewes at Capernaum that the eatyng of his fleshe and drynkyng of his bloude was not lyke to the eatyng of MaÌ„na For both good and badde dyd eate Manna but none do eate his fleshe and drynke his bloudde but they haue euerlastyng lyfe For as his father dwelleth in hym and he in his father and so hathe lyfe by his father so he that eateth Christes fleshe and drynketh his bloud dwelleth in Christ Christ in him by Christ he hath eternall lyfe What nede we any other witnesse whaÌ„ Christe hym selfe doth testifie the matter so plainly that who so euer eateth his fleshe and drynketh his bloud hath euerlastynge lyfe and that to eate his fleshe and to drinke his bloud is to beleue in hym And who so euer beleueth in him hath euerlastyng lyfe Whereof it foloweth necessaryly that vngodly persons beyng lymmes of the diuell do not eate Christes fleshe nor drynke his bloud excepte the Papistes wold saie that suche haue euerlastyng lyfe But as the dyuell is the foode of the wycked whiche he nourisheth in all iniquitee and bryngeth vp into euerlastyng daÌ„nation so is Christe the very fode of al them that bee the liuely membres of his body and them he norisheth fedeth bringeth vp and cherisheth vnto euerlasting life And euery good and faythfull christian man feeleth in hym selfe bowe he feedeth of Christe eatyng his fleshe and drynkyng his bloud For he putteth the hole hope and trust of his redemption and saluation in that only sacrifice which Christ made vpon the Crosse hauyng his body there broken and his bloud there shedde for the remission of his synnes And this greate benefite of Christe the faithfull man earnestly considereth in his mynde chaweth and digesteth it with the stomake of his harte spiritually receauynge Christe wholly into hym and gyuyng agayne hym selfe wholly vnto Christe And this is the eatyng of Christes flesh drinkyng of his blud the felyng wherof is to euery maÌ„ the felyng how he eateth drynketh Christ which none euil maÌ„ nor meÌ„bre of the diuel can do For as Christ is a spiritual meate so is he spritually eaten digested with the spirituall part of vs and geueth vs spirituall and eternall lyf and is not eaten swalowed and dygested with oure teeth tungues throtes and bealyes Therfore saith S. Cyprian he that drynketh of the holy cup remembrynge this benefite of God is more thirsty than he was before And lifting vp his hart vnto the lyuyng God is taken with suche a singular hunger and appetite that he abhorreth all gally and bytter drynkes of synne and al sauour of carnall pleasure is to him as it were sharpe sowre vineger And the synner beyng conuerted receauyng the holy mysteries of the Lordes supper geueth thankes vnto God boweth downe his head knowyng that his sinnes be forgeuen and that he is made cleane and perfecte and his soule whiche God hath sanctified he rendreth to God agayne as a faythfull pledge and than he glorâ—eth with Paule and reioyseth saieng Nowe it is not I that lyue but it is Christ that lyueth within me These thynges be practised and vsed among faithfull people and to pure myndes the eatyng of his fleshe is no horrour but honour and the spirite delyteth in the drynkyng of the holy and sanctifyenge bloude And dooyng this we whette not our teethe to byte but with pure faith we breake the holy breade These be the woordes of Cyprian And acording vnto the same S. Austen saith Prepare not thy iawes but thy hert And in an other place as it is cited of him he saith why dost thou prepare thy bely thy teeth beleue thou hast eaten But of this matter is sufficiently spokeÌ„ before where it is proued that to eate Christs flesh and drinke his bloud bee figuratiue speeches And now to returne to our purpose that only the liuely membres of Christ do eate his fleshe drynke his blud I shal bryng furth many other places of auncieÌ„t authors before not meÌ„cioned Fyrst Origen writeth plainly after this maner The worde was made fleshe and very meat whiche whoso eateth shall surely liue for euer whiche no euil man can eate For if it could be that he that contynueth euil might eate the woorde made fleshe seyng that he is the woorde bread of life it should not haue been written Whosoeuer eateth this bread shall liue for euer These wordes be so plaine that I nede say nothyng for the more cleare declaracion of them Wherfore you shal heare howe Cyprian agreeth with him Cyprian in his sermon ascribed vnto him of the Lordes supper sayth The author of this tradicion sayd that except we eate his fleshe and drynke his bloud we should haue no life in vs instructyng vs with a spiritual lesson and openyng to vs a way to vnderstaÌ„d so priuy
euery side the scripture condemneth the aduersaries of goddes worde And this wickednes of the Papistes is to bee wondred at that thei affirme Christs flesh blud soule holy spirite and his deite to be a man that is subiect to sin and a limme of the diuell They be wonderfull iuglers and coniurers that with certayne woordes can make god and the dyuell to dwel togither in one man and make him both the temple of god and the temple of the diuell It apeareth that they be so blinde that they can not see y ◠light frō darknes Beliall from Christ nor the table of y ◠lord from the table of diuels Thus is confuted this third intollerable errour and heresye of the Papistes That they which be the lymmes of the diuell do eate the very bodye of Christ and drinke his bludde manifestly and directly contrary to the wordes of Christ himself who saith Who so euer eateth my flesh and drinketh my bludde hath euerlasting life But leaste they shuld seeme to haue nothinge to say for themselues they alleag S. Paule in the eleuenth to the Corinth where he saith Hee that eateth and drinketh vnwortheli eateth and drinketh his owne damnation not discerninge the lordes bodye But S. Paule in that place speaketh of the eatinge of the breade and drinkinge of the wine and not of the corporall eating of Christes flesh blud as it is manifest to euery man that wyll read the text For these be the words of S. Paul Let a mā examine himselfe and so eat of the bread and drynk of the cuppe for he that eateth and drinketh vnworthely eateth and drinketh his owne damnation not discerninge the Lordes bodye In these wordes S. Paules mynde is that for asmuche as the breade and wyne in the Lordes supper do represent vnto vs the very bodye and blud of our sauiour Christe by his owne institution and ordinance therfore although he sit in heauē at his fathers right hand yet shuld we come to this mysticall bread wine with faithe reuerence purite and feare as we wold do if we should come to see and receaue Christe himselfe sensibly present For vnto the faithfull Christ is at his owne holy table present with his mightye spirite and grace and is of them more frutefully receaued than if corporally they shulde receaue him bodely present And therefore they that shal worthely come to this goddes bord muste after due triall of themselues considre first who ordained this table also what meate and drinke they shall haue that come therto and how thei ought to behaue themselues therat He that prepared the table is Christ himselfe The meat drynke wherwith he feedeth theim that come thereto as they ought to do is his owne body ▪ flesh blud They that come therto muste occupy their myndes in considering howe his bodye was broken for them and his blud shed for their redemptiō and so ought they to approache to this heauenly table with all humblenes of hart and godlynes of minde as to the table wherin Christe himselfe is gyuen And they that come otherwise to thys holy table thei come vnworthely and do not eat drinke Christes flesh blud but eat and drink their owne damnacion bicause thei do not duely considre Christes very fleshe and blud which be offered ther spiritually to be eaten and drunken but dispising Christs most holy supper do come therto as it were to other meates and drinkes without regard of the lordes body which is the spirituall meat of that table But here maye not be passed ouer the answere vnto certain places of auncient Authors which at the firste shew seeme to make for the Papists purpose that euel men do eate and drink the very fleshe and bludde of Christe But if those places be truely and throughely waied it shall appeare that not one of theym maketh for theyr errour that euel men do eat Christes very body The first place is of S. Augustin contra Cresconium grāmaticum wher he saith that although Christ himselfe say He that eateth not my fleshe and drinketh not my bludde shall not haue lyfe in him yet doth not his apostels teache that the same is pernicious to theim whiche vse it not well for hee saith Whosoeuer eateth the bread and drinketh the cuppe of the Lorde vnworthely shalbe gylty of the body and bloud of the Lorde In whiche wordes S. Augustyne seemeth to conclude that aswell the euil as the good do eat the body and bloud of Christ although the euil haue no benefite but hurt therby But consider the place of S. Augustyne diligently and then it shall euidently appeare that he ment nat of the eatyng of Christes body but of the sacrament therof For the intent of sainct Augustyne there is to proue that good thinges auaile not to suche persons as do euil vse them and that many thynges whiche of them selues be good and be good to some yet to other some they bee not good As that light is good for whole eyes and hurteth soore eyes that meate whiche is good for some is euil for other some One medicine healeth some and maketh other sicke One harnes doth arme one and combreth another one coate is mete for one to straight for another And after other examples at the last S. Augustyne sheweth the same to bee true in the sacramentes both of Baptisme and of the Lordes body whiche he sayth do profite onely them that receiue the same worthely And the wordes of sainct Paule which sainct Augustyne citeth do speake of the sacramental bread and cuppe not of the body and bloud And yet sainct Augustyne calleth the bread and the cuppe the fleshe and bloud not that they be so in dede but that they so signifie As he sayth in another place contra Maximinum In sacramētes sayth he is to be considered not what they be but what they shewe For they be signes of other thynges beyng one thyng and signifiyng another Therfore as in baptisme those that come faynedly and those that come vnfaynedly both bee washed with the sacramental water but both be not washed with the holy ghost clothed with Christ so in the Lordes supper bothe eate and drynke the sacramental bread wyne but bothe eate not Christ himselfe and bee fedde with his fleshe and bloud but those only which worthely receiue the sacrament And this answere wyll serue to another place of sainct Augustyne against the Donatistes where he sayth that Iudas receiued the body and bloud of the Lorde For as S. Augustyne in that place speaketh of the sacrament of Baptisme so doth he speake of the sacrament of the body and bloud whiche neuerthelesse he calleth the body and bloud because they signifie and represent vnto vs the very body fleshe and bloud And as before is at length declared a figure hath the name of the thyng that is signifyed thereby As a mannes ymage is called a man a Lyons image a