Answer unto a Crafy and Sophistical Cavillation, Debate · Confutation of book 1 · Section 27
Winchester.
Now let vsus consider the tertes of the Euangelistes, and S. Paul, which be brought in by the Author as followeth.
Math. 26.When they were eating, Iesus tooke bread, and when he had geuen thankes he brake it, gaue it to his disciples, and sayd: Take, eate, this is my body. And he tooke the cuppe, and when he had geuen thanks, he gaue it to them, saying: Drinke ye all of this, for this is my bloud of the new testament, that is shed for many for the remission of sinnes: But I say vntounto you, I will not drinke henceforth of this fruite of the vine, vntill that day when I shall drinke it new with you in my fathers kingdome.
As they did eate, Iesus tooke bread, and when he had blessed, he brake it, and gaue it to them,Mark. 14. and said: Take, eate, this is my body. And taking the cup, when he had geuen thankes, he gaue it to them, and they all dranke of it, and he said vntounto them: This is my bloud of the new testament, which is shed for many. Uerely, I say vntounto you, I wil drink no more of the fruite of the vine, vntill that day, that I drinke it new in the kingedome of God.
When the houre was come, he sate downe and the twelue Apostles with him, and he sayd vntounto them: I hauehave greatly desired to eate this Pascha with you, before I suffer: for I say vntounto you,Luke. 22. henceforth I wil not eate of it any more, vntill it be fulfilled in the kingdome of God. And he tooke the cup, and gaue thankes, and sayd: Take this, and deuide it among you, for I say vntounto you, I wil not drinke of the fruit of the vine, vntil the kingdome of God come. And he tooke bread, and when he had geuen thankes, he brake it, and gaue it vntounto them, saying: This is my body, whith is geuen for you, this doe in remembrance of me. Likewise also when he had supped, he tooke the cup, saying: This cuppe is the new testament in my bloud, which is shed for you.
1. Cor. 10.Is not the cup of blessing, which we blesse, a communion of the bloud of Christ? Is not the bread which we break, a communion of the body of Christ? We being many, are one bread, and one body, for we are all partakers of one bread, and of one cup.
1. Cor. 11.That which I deliuered vntounto you, I receaued of the Lord. For the Lord Iesus, the same night in the which he was betrayed, tooke bread, and when he had geuen thanks, he brake it, and sayd: Take, eate, this is my body, which is broaken for you, doe this in remembrance of me. Likewise also he tooke the cup when supper was done, saying: This cup is the new testament in my bloud: Doe this as often as ye drink it, in remembrance of me, for as often as you shall eate this bread, and drinke of this cup ye shew forth the Lordes death till he come: wherefore who soeuer shall eat of this bread, or drinke of this cup vnworthely, shall be gilty of the body and bloud of the Lord. But let a man examine himselfe, and so eate of the bread, and drink of the cup. For he that eateth and drinketh vnworthely, eateth and drinketh his own damnation, because he maketh no difference of the Lordes body: For this cause, many are weake and sicke among you, and many doe sléepe.
After these tertes brought in, the author doth in the 4. chap. begin to trauers Christes intent,The 4. vntruth that by these words hoc est corpus meum, Christ ment not to make the bread his body. that he intended not by these wordes (this is my body) to make the bread his body but to signifie that such as receaue that worthely, be members of Christes body. The catholick church acknowledging Christ to be very God and very man, hath from the beginning of these textes of scripture confessed truely Christes intent, and effectuall miraculous worke to make the bread his body, and the wine his bloud, to be verely meate, and verely drinke, vsing therin his humanitie, wherewith to féede vsus, as he vsed the same, wherewith to redéeme vsus, and as he doth sanctifie vsus by his holy spirite, so to sanctifie vsus by his holy diuine flesh and bloud, and as life is renued in vsus by the gift of Christes holy spirite, so life to be increased in vsus by the gift of his holy flesh. So as he that beléeueth in Christ, and receaueth the Sacrament of beliefe, which is Baptisme, receaueth really Christes spirite: And likewise he that hauing Christes spirite, receaueth also the Sacrament of Christes body and bloud: Doth really receaue in the same, and also effectually, Christes very body and bloud. And therfore Christ in the institution of this Sacrament sayd, deliuering that he consecrated: This is my body. &c. And likewise of the cuppe: This is my bloud. &c. And although to mannes reason it séemeth straunge, that Christ standing, or sitting at the table, should deliuer them his body to be eaten: Yet when we remember Christ to be very God, we must graunt him omnipotent, and by reason therof, represse in our thoughtes all imaginations how it might be, and consider Christes intent by his will, preached vntounto vsus by Scriptures, and beleued vniuersally in his church. But if it may now be thought séemely for vsus to be so bold, in so high a mistery, to begin to discusse Christes intent: What should moue vsus to thinke that Christ would vse so many wordes, without effectuall and reall signification, as be rehearsed touching the mistery of this Sacrament?
First, in the sixt of Iohn, when Christ had taught of the eating of him, being the bread descended from heauen, and declaring that eating to signifie beleeuing, whereat was no murmuring, that then he should enter to speak of geuing of his flesh to be eaten, and his bloud to be dronken, and to say yt he would geue a bread, that is, his flesh which he would geue for the life of the world. In which wordes Christ maketh mention of two giftes. and therfore as he is truth, must needes intend to fulfill them both. And therefore as we beleeue the gift of his flesh to the Iewes to be crucified: so we must beléeue the gift of his flesh to be eaten, and of that gifte, liuery, and seisme (as we say) to be made of him, that is in his promises faithfull (as Christ is) to be made in both. And therefore when he sayd in his Supper: Take, eate, this is my body, he must néedes intend plainly as his words of promise required: And these wordes in his Supper purporte to geue as really then his body to be eaten of vsus, as he gaue his body in deede to be crucified for vsus, aptly neuerthelesse, and conueniently for ech effect, and therefore in maner of geuing diuersly, but in the substance of the same geuen, to be as his wordes beare witnes, the same, and therefore sayd: this is my body yt shalbe betraied for you, expressing also the vse, when he said: take, eate, which words, in deliuering of material bread, had béen superfluous: for what should men doe with bread when they take it, but eate it, specially when it is broaken.
But as Cyrill sayth: Christ opened there vntounto them the practise of that doctrine hée spake of in the sixt of S. Iohn, and because he sayd he would geue his flesh for food, which he would geue for the life of the world, he for fulfilling of his promise, sayd: Take, eate, this is my body, which wordes hauehave béen taught and beléeued to be of effect, and operatory, and Christ vnderunder the forme of bread to hauehave béen his very body. According whereunto S. Paule noteth the receauer to be gilty, when he doth not estéeme it our Lordes body, wherewith it pleaseth Christ to féede such as be in him regenerate, to the intent that as man was redéemed by Christ, suffering in the nature of his humanitie: so to purchase for man the kingdome of heauen, lost by Adams fall. Euen likewise in the nature of the same humanitye, geuing it to be eaten, he ordayned it to nourish man, and make him strong to walke, and continue his iorney, to enioy that kingdome. And therefore to set forth liuely vntounto vsus the communication of the substance of Christes most precious body in the Sacrament, and the same to be in déede deliuered, Christ vsed playn wordes, testified by the Euangelistes. Saint Paule also rehearsed the same wordes in the same plain termes in the eleuenth to the Corinthians, and in the tenth, geuing (as it were) an exposition of the effect, vseth the same proper wordes, declaring the effect to be the communication of Christes body and bloud. And one thing is notable touching the Scripture, that in such notable spéeches vttered by Christ, as might hauehave an ambiguity, the Euangelists by some circumstance declared it, or sometime opened it by playn interpretation: as whē Christ sayd he would dissolue the temple, and within thrée dayes build it agayne. The Euangelist by and by addeth for interpretation: This he sayd of the temple of his body. And when Christ sayd, he is Helias, and I am the true vine: The circumstaunce of the texte openeth the ambiguity.
But to shew that Christ should not mean of his very body when he so spake.Neither Saint Paul. nor the Euangelistes, adde any words wherby to take away the signification of bread and wine. Neither S. Paule after, ne the Euangelistes in the place, adde any wordes or circumstaunces, whereby to take away the proper signification of the wordes (body) and (bloud) so as the same might seeme not in déede geuen (as the catholicke faith teacheth) but in signification as the author would hauehave it. For as for the wordes of Christ (the Spirite geueth life, the flesh profiteth nothing) be to declare the two natures in Christ, ech in their property a part considered, but not as they be in Christs person vnited, the mistery of which vniō, such as beléeued not Christ to be God, could not consider, and yet to insinuate that vntounto them, Christ made mention of his descention from heauen, and after of his ascension thether agayn, whereby they might vnderstand him very God, whose flesh taken in the virgins wombe, and so geuen spiritually to be eaten of vsus, is (as I hauehave before opened) viuifike, and geueth life.
And this shall suffice here to shew how Christes intent was to geue verely (as he did in déede) his precious body and bloud to be eaten and dronken, according as he taught thē to be verely meate and drinke, and yet gaue and geueth them so vnderunder forme of visible creatures to vsus, as we may conueniētly and without horror of our nature receaue them, Christ therein condescending to our infirmity. As for such other wrangling as is made in vnderstanding of the words of Christ, shall after he spoaken of by further occasion.