Rejoinder to Bristows Reply, Part 2 · Book 1 · Chapter 4
CAP. IIII.
What the supper of Christ is, according to the beliefe of the Sander.Catholikes.
He promiseth to shewe, first, out of the worde of god, Fulke.and next out of the monuments of the auncient fathers, what the beliefe of the Papistes is, concerning this sacrament. Although he esteemeth euen Albertus, Thomas, Bonauenture, Alexander, &c. worthie of credit, by a rule of S. Aug. cont. …u. li. 2. because they liued before this question rose betweene the Sacramentaries & thē: by which rule so vnderstoode, we may esteme Berengarius, Bruno, Henricus de Gauduno, Waldo, Bertrame, &c. worthie of credite, because they liued long before this question rose betweene the Papistes & vsus. Wherfore in this rule of Augustine is to be considered, not betweene what persons, but what time the question first arose betweene any persons, and so the fathers of the first 600. yeares are the best and lest partiall witnesses.
Furthermore, he sheweth that the supper of the Corinthians, was not the supper of Christ, but he had a supper of his owne. And so rehearsing the wordes of the institution, out of the Eua…listes & S. Paul: hee affirmeth… that we are informed by these words, the supper of Christ to be his owne body & bloud, giuen vnderunder the signes of ye bread & wine, whereupon he gaue thankes, turning by his almightie power the substance of bread and wine, into the substance of his body & bloud. That Christ giueth his body to them that receiue the bread and wine worthily, it shalbe no controuersie betweene vsus. But that he giueth it vnderunder ye signes of bread and wine, vnderstanding (as he doeth) signes for accidents, he should hauehave prooued out of Gods worde, if either he would or could hauehave kept promise, likewise, that Christ gaue thankes vponupon the bread and wine, and thirdly, that he turned the substance therof into ye substāce of his body & bloud. But leauing other arguments for other places, & not being able to proue these things in any place, he wil enquire, whether the name & nature of a supper be more agreable to their beliefe, or to our meaning? that is (saith he) whether Christ made his last supper of the substance of cōmon bread & wine, or of his owne reall body and bloud. As though we affirmed, that the only substance of Christes supper were common bread & wine, & not the body & bloud of Christ. But to proceed, & let him goe with that lye, his first argument to prooue how deintie & costly a banket Christ made, taking his leaue of his friends, is taken of the great preparatiō & promise made of it so long before, which promise & preparatiō, how euil fauouredly he prooueth out of Melchizedeks bread & wine, Manna, the table of Dauid & Salomon, ye bread & flesh of Elias, &c, I omitt. His conclusion is, we must not suppose, that Christ at his farewell, gaue any other deinties, beside common bread & wine sanctified in vse onelyonly, and not consecrated in substance. You may see, howe absurdly he speaketh, common bread sanctified, which is as good as if he would say, Christ gaue white blacke bread, or whot colde wine. We affirme that ye bread & wine were consecrated, not in accidents, but in substance, to the vse of an holy sacrament, yt they might be the body & bloud of Christ, to as many as receiued the same worthily, not by conuersion of the natural substance of one thing into another, but by a wonderfull diuine & vnspeakable change of that which is ordinatily a weake element, of ye world, to be a mightie foode, vntounto eternall life. The second argument he vseth to proue the excellencie of the banket, is of the fine cookerie (I vse his owne terme, which also he doth exemplifie by making 16. or 20. dishes of egges alone, which cannot be without many spices & mixture, & great labour, &c.) But Christ, like a most cunning workman, of simple & litle stuffe, and that without help of his disciples, to prepare it, made the gretest & finest feast that euer was heard of, vsing no shifts, but only blessing or thanksgiuing. The sinesse of this cookerie he setteth forth, by a fine speculation of ye furniture of the world, by the Angels, heauens & elements, frō whence it pleased God to make a reuolt of al things, from the bottome of the earth, vpward againe towardes him self: And so made out of ye earth vegitatiue thinges, then sensible creatures, & last man, wt a reasonable soule, as a briefe summe of all creatures, & a litle worlde, who being seduced by the diuel, was by the incarnation of ye sonne of God, restored, & then al thinges were briefely brought againe to God. So that in this banket, where Christ is giuen, there is serued in one dish a composition most delicate, of angels, heauens, elements, of herbes fishes, birds, beasts, of reasonable men, and of God himselfe. No kind of salet meates, sauce, fruits, consectiō, no kind of wine, aqua vitae, aqua composita, liquors, syrops, can be found in nature, made by art, d…uised by wi…e, but it is all set vponupon this table, and that in a small ro…e, &c. Thus doe the Catholikes teach of the supper of our Lorde, and beleeue it agreeable to his worde and worthie his worship. What say you, M. S. is this the doctrin of the Catholiks? that the breade and wine, being turned into the body and bloud of Christ, are also turned into Angels, heauens, elements, herbes, fishes, birdes, beastes, men, & God him selfe? yea, into all salets, meates, sauces, fruits, confections, all kindes of wine, aqua vitae, aqua composita, all liquors and syrops, beside porredge, puddings, pyes, pancakes, and a great many other thinges, which you hauehave not named, but comprehended in generall wordes? Is there a reall conuersion in deede, by reason of your heraphicall reuolution? And is this doctrine agreable to the word of God? In what place is it written, I pray you? I suppose it to be this: Eph. 1. It hath pleased God to restore in Christ all things which are in heauen, & which are in earth in him. Where the Greeke word foreign, importeth a briefe gathering into one certeine head and summe, that all thinges in heauen and earth, are brought vntounto Christ, and in him as it were againe, begonne and renewed. And cannot this be done, except the body of Christ do really conteine all things by your surmised reuolt? for I dare not vnderstand you siguratiuely, seeing you abhorre figures in this matter of the supper; nor Hyberbolically, for that you count no better then a rhetoricall lye. Wherefore, if these things be really conteined, as you say, I thinke it small for the worship of Christes banket, whose excellencie I take to be so great, that it conteineth not these grosse meates of the body, but an heauenly refreshing of the soule. And that will the olde fathers, whome you cite for your cookery, plainly testifie with me. First Cyprian de Coen. Dom. Vident haec sacramenta, &c. The poore in spirite see these sacraments, and contenting themselues with this one dish, they despise all the delicats of this world, and possessing Christ, they disdaine to possesse any stuffe of this worlde. Beholde Cyprian sayeth nor, that this dish conteineth al foules, fishes, sauces, spices, &c. but that al these are despised of them yt are partakers of this dish. Againe, speaking of the wicked, Et a secretis diuinis omnium intra se continentibus summam, diffugiunt & recedunt, &c. They fly and depart from the diuine secrets, which conteine within them selues the briefe or summe of all mysteries.
He saith not, they containe meates and drinkes, syropes and confections, but ye summe of al mysteries or heauenly, & diuine treasures, But (saith Sander) when saint Cyprian saith, intra se, within them, he meaneth within the compasse, or formes of breade and wine, for these onelyonly are the thinges that we can poynt vntounto, within or without: Belike he will teach vsus newe Grammar, and newe Latine also. For in our old Latine and Grammar, we learned, that sui and suus were reciproca, but Sander will teach vsus that, se, signifieth the compasse or formes of breade and wine: Or if the worde se, signifie themselues, as it was wont to doe, Sander wil teach vsus, that the compasse or formes of bread and wine, are the diuine secrets themselues. For Cyprian saith yt the diuine secrets within themselues containe ye summe of al mysteries. But marke his reason, and you wil thinke that an Oxe hath lowed it out, rather then a man spoken it. The compasse or formes of bread, are ye onelyonly things yt we can poynt vntounto within, or without: for other meat & drinke, we see not, quoth he. He will hauehave nothing but yt he can point vntounto with his hand, and see with his bodily eye. Whereas diuine secretes, whereof Cyprian speaketh, can neither be seene with the eye, nor poynted at with ye finger, but onelyonly be vnderstoode by faith, in them to whom God hath reueiled them.
His next witnesse is Chrysostome: in 1. Cor. Hom. 24 Quando corpus Christi, &c. When the body of Christ is set before thee, say with thy selfe: For this bodies sake, I am no more earth and ashes. For this I hope to receiue heauen, and the good thinges which are in heauen, immortall life, the seate of Angels, the companie of Christ. The very table is the strength of our soule, the bonde of trust, the foundation, our hope, saluation, life. If wee goe hence pure with this sacrifice, with most great confidence, we shall ascende to the holy porch or entrie, as it were compassed rounde about with golden garments. But what rehearse I thinges to come? whiles we are in this life, this mysterie causeth, that the earth is heauen to vsus. Whatsoeuer Chrysostome saith here, we acknowledge to be true as he did meane it: but nothing he saith for Master Sanders reuolution, and as little for the carnall manner of presence or eating of Christes body. For euen as we are no more earth and asshes, & as earth is made heauen, which is after a spiritual manner by fayth, and yet truly and vndoubtedlye, so is the body of Christ present & eaten, at ye table. According to which meaning he saith in the same homily, Quemadmodū enim corpus illud vnitū est Christo, ita & nos per hunc panem vnione coniungimur. For euen as that body is vaited to Christ, so we also by this bread are joyned in an vnion. Note heere, yt body & this bread to be diuerse thinges in naturall substance: & againe our coniunction to be by the bread mystically: for naturally and substantially wee are not ioyned one to another, but in an heauenly kinde of vnion, we are made one bodye of Christ, and members one of another. And this is not an emptye dish of faith, as Sander calleth it, but a full mysterie of saluation. And although faith shall cease when we hauehave the full fruition of Gods promises in heauen, yet doth Sander both absurdly, and vnfaithfully gather therof, an opposition of faith and trueth, wheras faith hath thereof the name in Hebrue, because it is grounded vponupon truth. But what meaneth he by truth, that which he preferreth aboue the receiuing by faith? Namely the carnall manner of receiuing Christes body, which hee holdeth the wicked may doe to their damnation. A worthy truth, in respect of which, saith is counted litle worth as an empty dish, which yet by their owne doctrine, must make their trueth effectuall to saluation. But see I pray you, howe cunningly he reasoneth of the finall cause. Christ tooke flesh (saith he) that our bodies might hauehave a banket made to them, as the soules of the faithfull neuer lacked God, whom they might feede on by faith and spirit. By which reason the godly of the old testament, before Christes incarnation, were but halfe nourished, namely in soules onelyonly, and not in bodyes, if Christes flesh bee not a meat otherwise then receiued into the body, after the Popishe meaning. Yet he supposeth, that Cyrillus fauoureth this argument, In Ioan. lib. 4. Cap. 14. Oporiui… enim cert…, vt non solùm anima per spiritum sanctum in beatam vitam ascenderet, ver…netiam vt rude atque terrestre hoc corpus cognato sibi gust…, tactu & cibo, ad immortalitatem reduceretur. For it behoued truely, that not onelyonly the soule shoulde ascend, by the holie Ghost into the blessed life, but also that this rude, and earthly bodic shoulde be brought to immortalitie, by tasting, touching, and by meate, which were of alliance with vsus. Cyrill meaneth of the outwarde element, by which our faith being instructed as our bodies are fedde, so we are taught that the whole man is nourished to immortalitie. Therefore he saith, immediatly after in the same place: N… putet ex tarditate mentis suae Iudaeus, inaudita nobis excogitata esse mysteria: videbit enim, si attentiùs quaerit, hoc ipsum à Mos… temporibus per figuram semper factitatum suisse. Quid enim maiores corum ab ira Aegyptiorum liberauit, quando mors in primogenita Aegyptiorum sae…iebat? nónne palàm est quia diuina institutione perdocti, agni carnes manducauerunt, & postes ac superliminaria sanguine perunxerunt, propterea mortem ab eis diuertisse? pernicies námque, id est, carnis huius mors, aduersus genus humanum propter primi hominis transgressionem surebat. Terra enim …s, & in terram reuerteris propter peccatum, …udiuimus. Verùm quoniam per carnem suam Christus atrocem hunc euersurus erat tyrannum, propterea id mysterium apud priscos obumbrabatur, & o…inis carnibus atque sanguine sanctificati (Deo ita volente) perniciem essugiebant. Quid igitur O Iudaee turbaris, praefiguratam veritatem iam videns? our inquam turbaris, si Christus dicit, Nisi manducaueritis carnem filii hominis, & biberitis sanguinem eius, non habebitis vitam in vobis, cùm oporteret, Mosaicis te legibus institutum, & priscis vmbris ad credendum perdoctum, ad intelligenda haec mysteria paratissimum esse. Neither let the Iewe of the dulnes of his minde, thinke, that we hauehave inuented such mysteries as were neuer heard of: for hee shall see, if he will search more attentiuely, that the same thing hath beene alwaies done by figure, since the time of Moses. For what hath deliuered their auncestors from the plague of the Aegyptians, when death raged against ye first borne of the Aegyptians? Is it not manifest, that they being taught by the institution of God, did eate the flesh of a Lambe and annoynted the postes and vpper dore postes, with bloude, and therefore death departed from them? For destruction, that is the death of this flesh, did rage against mankinde for the transgression of ye first man. For because of sinne we heard, Earth thou art, and into earth thou shalt returne. But because Christ by his flesh, was to ouerthrow this cruel tyrant, therefore that mysterie was shadowed to the old fathers, and being sanctified with the flesh and bloud of ye sheepe (God so willing) they escaped destruction. Why therfore ô Iewe, art thou troubled, seeing the trueth alreadie prefigured? Wherfore, I say, art thou troubled, if Christ say, Except ye eat the flesh of the sonne of Man, & drinke his bloud, you shall hauehave no life in your selues, whereas it behoued thee being instructed in the Lawe of Moses, & taught to beleeuing by the old shadows, to be most readie to vnderstande these mysteries? This place of Cyrill, sheweth at large, that he meaneth not by tast and touching, or meate which is of alliance with vsus, the naturall bodie of Christ, but the outward part of the sacrament: namely, the bread and wine: for of the bodie of Christ, there is neither taste, nor touching bodily in the sacrament. But euen as by eating of the Lambes flesh, and anoynting of the bloude, which prefigured the flesh and bloude of Christ, and was a meate of kindred or alliance with them, with whose taste and touching they were acquainted, the Iewes were assured of their deliuerance: so we by eating, and drinking these outwarde signes of Christes bodie and bloude, are assured of eternall life. For you must note, that he saith hoc ipsum the selfe same thing, was alwayes done by figure, from the time of Moses. What was that? namely, that not onelyonly our soules by the holy Ghost, but also our bodies by externall sacramentes, were brought to immortalitie. But the same thing could not be done according to the Popish meaning before Christs incarnation: therefore Cyrill is nothing lesse then of the Popish meaning.
The last witnesse is Tertullian de resur. Carnis: The flesh is washed that the soule may be clensed. The flesh is oynted, that the soule may be consecrated. The flesh is signed, that the soule may be defenced. The flesh is shadowed by imposition of hande, that the soule also may be illuminated. The flesh is fedde with the bodie & bloud of Christ, that the soule also may be made fat of God. They cannot therfore be parted in reward, whom worke ioynesh.
We agree to that which Tertullian saith, yt our flesh is fed with yt body & bloud of Christ, but not after a carnall or natural maner, by receiuing the body and bloud at our mouthes, &c: but after a spiritual manner, as he himselfe sheweth in the same booke. Nam quia durum & intollerabilem existimauerunt sermonem eius, quasi verè carnem suam illis edendam determinasse, vt in spiritum disponeret statum salutis, promisit spiritus est qui vi…ificat. For because they thought his saying hard, and intollerable, as though he had determined that his flesh was to be eatē of thē verily, that he might dispose the state of saluation into the spirit, he saide before: It is the spirit that quickeneth.
In these words Tertullian counteth it, the error of the Capernaites, to thinke that Christ determined, that his flesh should be eaten verily, meaning that his fleshe was not to be eaten after a grosse and naturall manner, with the mouth and teeth, but with faith, and heart. Againe the argument of the resurrection of our bodies, which he draweth of eating the bodie & bloud of Christ, cannot stande but with a spirituall eating thereof. For what hope should all the fathers before the incarnation of Christ, and so many thousand Christians as since that time hauehave neuer receiued the sacrament, hauehave of the resurrection of their bodies, if the vertue thereof were included in the popish imagined manner of eating? Therfore Tertullian meaneth plainely, that the externall sacraments, which are receiued with the body, & beare the name oftentimes of the thinges, whereof they are sacraments, are arguments and assurances, that saluation perteineth both to the bodie and to the soule, and not that the bodie eateth and drinketh really the substance of Christs body and bloud, vnderunder the formes of bread and wine, any more then the body receiueth the holy ghost vnderunder the forme of water, or imposition of hands &c.