Rejoinder to Bristows Reply, Part 2 · Book 3 · Chapter 3
CAP. III.
It is prooued out of the holy Fathers and generall councels, that Sander.Christ in S. Iohn spake of his last supper.
I hauehave shewed euen nowe, in what sort Christ may Fulk.bee saide to hauehave spoken of his last supper, in that chapter; and of that sense and meaning, are the most ancient and sounde fathers, whome Sander citeth to bee vnderstoode. And not one which affirmeth the eating of Christes fleshe and bloude, which there is spoken of, to bee peculiar vntounto the supper, and singulerly to bee vnderstoode of eating in the sacrament, and not otherwise: which is the onelyonly thing which we denie, and not that the doctrine of that Chapter, doeth not at all pertaine to the supper, but that it is further to bee extended, then to the supper, by which, the carnall manner of eating of Christes flesh, is manifestly ouerthrowne. But let vsus briefely, runne ouer his authorities. First Ignatius, Clemens, Alexandrinus, and Origen hee omitteth, because they speake nothing almost sounding to his purpose. But Cyprian in orat, dominica, seemeth vntounto him clearely, to prooue, that it is ment of the supper, because hee writeth, that who so is any long time kept from the sacrament, is in daunger of euerlasting life: alleaging this text of saint Iohn: Except yee eate the fleshe of the sonne of man, &c. For hee shoulde wholie faile of his proofe (saith he) if that place did not prooue the necessitie of communicating sacramentally. I denie the argument: for hee speaketh of them which were cut off from the bodie of Christ by excommunicatiō, whose admission vntounto the cōmunion, was an assurance of their incorporation againe. This place is answered more at large in my confutation of Heskins lib. 2, cap. 4. The second is Athanasius in syn. nou. test lib. 4. which saith, Christ reasoneth with the multitude concerning the misteries. A sorie argument, as though the spirituall eating of Christs flesh were not a mysterie. It had bene very vnseasonable, to reason with them of that which as yet was not instituted, although as I hauehave saide, his doctrine may be extended also to ye sacrament. The 3. is Hilarie lib. 8. de Trin. disputing of the natural veritie of Christ, which is in vsus by the sacrament, alleageth these wordes: My flesh is meat in deede. I answere, Hilarie affirmeth that the naturall veritie of Christes flesh is in vsus, by his incarnation if we be faithfull, which is testified by the mysterie and sacrament of bread and wine. Therefore he saith, n…què verè sub mysterio carnem corporis sui sumimus: we doe truely, vnderunder a mysterie, take the flesh of his bodie: Againe, naturam carnis suae ad naturam aeternitatis sub sacramento nobi… communicande carnis admis…it: hee hath ioyned the' nature of his flesh vntounto the nature of eternitie, vnderunder a sacrament of his flesh to be communicated with vsus. The 4. is Basil, Dei bap lib. 1. Cap. 3. comparing the words of his supper, with the words of this Chapter, which prooueth not the matter in hande, otherwise then I hauehave shewed, but of Basil wee must see more afterward touching this controuersie. The 5. is Gregorie Nyssene his brother, in vita Mosis, who saith: that the breade which came downe frō heauē, which is ye true meat, is no vnbodily thing, for howe should a thing that lacketh a bodie, be made mea… vntounto the bodie? Doubtlesse (saith Sander) Christ is made meate vntounto our bodies, no where but onelyonly in the Sacrament. Sanders Doubtles, is all the argument, iudge of it as ye list. The 6. is Cyrillus of Ierusalem in Catech. Mistagog. 4. who intreating of ye Sacrament, citeth these words, except ye eate: ergo these words are to be vnderstood only of eating in the sacrament. Heere hee desireth license, being cōpassed with such a multitude of witnesses brieflie to runne ouer the rest, as he hath not beene very long in any of the other, and the like license I require, that one answere may serue them al, which are worth the answering; that although the Fathers did referre the doctrine of the sixt of S. Iohn, vntounto the supper: yet they referre it not onelyonly vntounto the supper, which is the matter we sticke vponupon. Neither Ambrose, nor Eusebius Emissenus, & much lesse Chrysostom & Augustine, which do plainly extende it further then to the supper. And last of all Hierom in the place by Sander cited, in 1. Cap. Ep. ad Eph. where he saith, the fleshe and bloud of Christ is vnderstanded two wayes, either that spirituall & diuine, wherof he sayd: My flesh is meate in deede, &c. or else, that flesh which was crucified for vsus, & that bloud which was s…ed with the speare of ye souldier. Where either he speaketh not of the Sacrament at all, or else he declareth manifestly, that the flesh which was crucified, is not giuen vsus in this Sacrament. And what his iudgement is of that place, he sheweth euidently in Ps. 147. Quando dicit, qui non comederit carnem meam, & biberit sanguinem meum, licet & in mysterio possit intelligi, tamen verius corpus Christi & sanguis eius sermo scripturarum est, diuina doctrina est. Whē he saith, he which shall not eate my flesh, nor drinke my bloude, &c. although it may be vnderstood in the mysterie, yet more truely the bodie of Christ & his bloud is ye wordes of the scriptures, it is the doctrine of God. The next is Cyrillus, whome Sander most impudently affirmeth to interpret the whole Chapter of the Sacrament of the altar, because sometime he nameth the mysteries, and the mysticall blessing, and the communicating of the holye cup. For thus he expoundeth that saying, which Sander maketh the promise of his supper. The bread, which I wil giuegive, is my flesh which I will giuegive for the life of the worlde. Morior inquit pro omnibus, vt per meipsum omnes vinificē, & caro mea omni… redemptio fiat, mori…tur enim mors morte mea, & si…ul me cum natura hominū resurget I die (saith he) for al men, yt I might quicken al men by my self, & my flesh may be made ye redemption of al men: for death by my death, shal die, & ye nature of mā shal rise again togither wt me. Likewise he expoundeth these words: He that eateth my flesh & drinketh my bloud, dwelleth in me & …inhim. Quoniāres ardua est & fide magis quā alio modo recipitur: ideo multis at que varijs modis, mirabilē eius vtilitatē exponit fundamentum & basim fidem esse confirmans. Because the matter that is high, and is receiued by faith, rather then by any other means, he setteth forth the merueilous profite thereof, by many and diuers meanes, confirming y• faith is the ground & foundation. Concerning the rest, whom he reherseth, as Sedulius, Leo, Isychiu…, Proiper, Eucherius, Cas…iodorus, Primatius, which apply any text of this Chapter to the Lords supper, I answe… as before, it is not sufficient to proue, that the bread is either only or principally to be vnderstoode of the Lordes supper. As for Damaseen, Haymo, Bernard, with other late writers, the last councell of Trent, and the second of Nice, what errors they followed we hauehave not to regard, and much lesse the practice of the Popish Church, reading that text for the Gospell of Corpus Christi day, but the first councell of Ephesus, which he iumbleth vp among the rest, in Epistola at Nestorium, affirmeth no such matter as he adnoucheth, but sheweth, what they iudged of that flesh, wherof they receiued the sacrament, namely, that it is the flesh of the sonne of God, able to giuegive life, as more at large I hauehave shewed in answere to Heskias lib. 2. Cap. 16.