Rejoinder to Bristows Reply, Part 2 · Book 3 · Chapter 8 – Chapter 9
CAP. VIII.
Seeing Christ is the bread of life to vsus by the gift of his Sander.flesh, the eating of that flesh by our faith and spirite sufficeth not, but it selfe also must be really eaten.
It is marueile, why it should not suffice vsus to eate hi… flesh, which is the breade of life, as all the children of Fulke.God did eate it before his incarnation, and as many thousandes since, which hauehave beene partakers of eternall life, and yet neuer were admitted to the Lordes supper. But Sander sayeth, it is expressely against the worde of God, that by the incarnation of Christ, wee hauehave not the breade of life giuen vsus by any other way then wee had it before. The reason belike is this: That the bread of life is nowe first promised by the gift of Christ, as who came into the worlde to bring vsus this euerlasting meate. Marke this Popish diuinitie which restraineth the vertue of Christes incarnation to the instant & time, in which he tooke flesh, and thereby denyeth eternall life to all the Patriarches and Prophets, who by his reason neuer tasted of the bread of life. He talketh much, and to litle or no purpose of the controuersie, that the godhead is life properly, which that it might be communicated to vsus, it assumpted flesh, and this flesh is made meate for vsus, but what is the conclusion? It is giuen at Christes supper, vnderunder the forme of breade, no other meane of giuing will serue. Doeth he not by this conclusion exclude all them from eternall life, which hauehave not beene admitted to the Sacrament? and yet like a folish hypocrite, he cryeth out of our crueltie, which depriuing men of the true flesh of Christ, depriue them of the godhead and of eternall life. Whereas he slandereth vsus altogether: for we affirme, that eueryevery one of Gods elect from the beginning of the world, hath beene fedde truely with the verie naturall flesh of Christ, but spiritually receiued, and by other meanes then vnderunder ye forme of breade in the supper, namely by faith, and in other Sacraments in them that were of discretion, and might come to them, and euen without faith and without Sacraments (in such of Gods elect, as lacking age were preuented by death, before they could be partakers of sacraments) by the onelyonly working of Gods holy spirite, who no lesse worketh in this wonderfull spiritual nourishment, then in any spirituall regeneration.
And therefore Sander reasoneth like a grosse Philosopher, when he sayth: that no signe is able to comiey that heauenly bread to vsus. It is horrible blasphemie to say, that my faith is able to deriue the substance of God, as meate into my soule and bodie, seeing faith is but a creature onelyonly, wherein the fulnesse of Godhead dwelleth not, and therefore is not able to attaine to the vnion of Gods nature, and much lesse able to giuegive it mee. And yet for all this that Sander sayeth, the Apostle prayeth that Christ, in whome the fulnesse of the godhead dwelleth corporally, may dwell in our heartes by faith. In deede, not by the worthinesse of faith, but by the grace of the holy spirite, who giueth strength to the weake elements of the worlde, and to our vnperfect faith, to bring to passe wonderfull effects, as we may see in baptisme. Wherefore, to reason of the weakenesse of signes, and vnablenesse of faith, seuerally from the spirite of God, is as much, as if you would go about to proue, that because a mans body without his soule can do nothing, therefore, being vnited to his soule, it is not of force to do any thing. To prooue that wee cannot be partakers of the Godhead of Christ without his flesh, he alleageth Cyrillus and Augustine, whose authorities, it is needeles to repeate, seeing wee grant as much as he would hauehave to be proued by them. But beside them, he citeth Hilarius lib. 8. de Trinit. Si verè verbum, &c. If the worde be truely made flesh, and in our Lordes meate, wee truely receiue the worde made flesh, howe can it bee but hee must be iudged to dwell naturally in vsus? Hereof, he gathereth that wee receiue Christ into our bodies after a carnall manner of receiuing, which is farre from Hilaries meaning, although he vse the worde naturally, which euen Sander must confesse to be vnproperly vsed, or else hee shall admitte many vnnaturall conclusions. Wherefore by naturally, he meaneth properly, verily, and truely, yet after a diuine and spirituall manner, not after a grosse, naturall, and sensible manner of habitation.
Againe, this dwelling of Christ in vsus naturally, doeth not prooue, that hee is corporally receiued into our mouthes, and settled in our stomakes. But this is sufficient to prooue, that he meaneth Christ to be spiritually receiued, in that hee affirmeth, it is not possible but that he must dwell naturally in them that receiue his flesh in the Lordes meate. Sander addeth, worthily: But Hilarie sayeth, truely. Therefore whosoeuer truely receiueth the flesh of Christ in the meate of our Lord, Christ must needes dwell in him naturally: but Christ dwelleth not at all in the vngodly, therefore the vngodly receiue not his fleshe in the Lordes meate, as the Papistes say, in whome also hee shoulde dwell naturally, if hee were receiued truly, or as they say, corporally.
CAP. IX.
By the three diuerse giuings, which are named in Saint Iohn, Sanderit is shewed, that Christ giueth his reall flesh vnderunder the figure of another thing.
The three times of giuing, doe not prooue that three ….diuerse things are giuen (neither doeth Sander saye one worde to prooue that they doe) and where is then the grounde of this disputation? God by Moyses (sayeth Sander) is sayde to hauehave giuen in time past, he hath giuen them breade from heauen to eate. But Christ sayeth, Moyses gaue you not breade from heauen, but my Father giueth you the true bread from heauen: Euen he which gaue them Manna for a Sacrament of the true breade, euen he gaue then, giueth nowe, and shall giuegive for euer the true breade from heauen, which is the fleshe of our Sauiour Christe incarnate, crucified, reuiued, and ascended into heauen for our saluation. And howe can Sander prooue, that Christ saying, hee will giuegive his flesh, meaneth any other gift then God his father did alwayes giuegive, except he referre his giuing to the time of his passion, the fruite whereof was and is giuen vntounto the ende of the worlde. That the breade which Christ giueth, is true vnderunder a figure, that is the forme of bread, fulfilling the figure of Manna, is a dreame of Sanders owne head, for Christ speaketh not of any giuing vnderunder a figure or forme of breade, or of giuing the bread of his supper, but of the generall foode of eternall life, which it is necessarie that al they be partakers of, which shalbe partakers of eternall life. And therefore it is out of measure absurd, that Sander would proue his figuratiue forme by Irenaeus, which saieth, that the Eucharistie consisteth of two things, of one earthly, which is the forme of bread and wine, the other heauenly &c: Irenaeus saith, not yt the formes of bread and wine are the earthly part of the Sacrament, but bread and wine in deede, for those externall formes or accidents, bee not any earthly thing, which is a substantiall matter. Irenaeus saieth, of the bread and wine, our bodies are increased and nourished: so can they not be of Sanders Accidents lib. 5. But hee will shewe the absurdities that rise of the Sacramentaries opinion. If Christes gift (saieth he) consisted of the substance of breade sanctified in qualitie, and made a signe of his body (as the sacramentaries teach) it shoulde neither bee the true bread, which his father gaue him, nor better then Manna, &c: But where doe the Sacramentaries teach, that Christes gifte spoken of in this Chapter is the substance of bread sanctified in qualitie &c. Wee teach that Christs gifte is his owne naturall bodie and bloude giuen in his passion to all the faithfull of the worlde, to bee the foode of eternall life, as for the substance of bread giuen in his last supper, wee teach that it is a Sacrament and seale of this gift. Therfore he must seeke other Sacramentaries to fight against, if any such be. For wee teach the true doctrine of the Sacraments, according to the worde of God, making difference as all Christian diuines hauehave done before vsus, of the sacrament and the matter of the sacrament.