Answer unto a Crafy and Sophistical Cavillation, Debate · Confutation of book 3 · Section 50
Winchester.
In the lxxiiii, leaf this author goeth about to geue a generall solution to all that may be sayd of Christes beyng in earth, in heauen, or in the sacrament: and geueth iustructions how these wordes of Christs diuine nature, figuratiuely, spiritually, really, carnally, corporally, may be placed: and thus he sayth: Christ in his diuine nature may be sayed to be in the earth, figuratiuely in the sacrament, spiritually in ye man that receiueth, but really, carnally, corporally, only in heauen. Let vsus consider the placing of these termes. When we say, Christ is in his diuine nature eueryevery where, is he not really also eueryevery where,Really. according to the true essēce of his godhed: in deed eueryevery where? that is to say, not in fantasy, nor imagination, but verily, truely, and therefore really as we beleue so in déed eueryevery where? And when Christ is spiritually in good men by grace, is not Christ in them really by grace? but in fantasy and imagination? And therfore what soeuer this author sayth, the word really may not hauehave such restraint to be referred onelyonly to heauen, vnles the author would deny that substance of the godhead, which as it comprehendeth all being incomprensible, & is eueryevery where without limitation of place, so as it is, truely it is, in déed is, and therfore really is, and therfore of Christ must be sayd, wheresoeuer he is in his diuine nature by power or grace, he is there really, whether we speak of heauen or earth.
Carnally. Corporally.As for the termes carnally and corporally, as this author semeth to vse them in other places of this book, to expresse the maner of presence of the humaine nature in Christ, I maruaile by what scripture he shall proue that Christs body is so carnally and corporally in heauen. We be assured by fayth, groūded vponupon the scriptures, of the truth of the beyng of Christs flesh and body there, and the same to be a true flesh and a true body, but yet in such sence as this author vseth the termes carnall and corporall against the sacrament, to imply a grossenes, he can not so attribute those termes to Christes body in heauen S, Augustine after the grosse sense of carnally, sayth: Christ reigneth not carnally in heauen. And Gregory Nazianzen sayth:August. de ciuita…. dei. Gregor. Nazianzen. de baptismo. Although Christ shall come in the last day to iudge, so as he shalbe sene: yet there is in him no grossenes, he sayth, and referreth the maner of his being to his knowlege onelyonly. And our resurrection, S. Augustine sayeth, although it shall be of our true flesh, yet it shall not be carnally. And when this author had defamed as it were the termes carnally and corporally, as tearmes of grossenes, to whō he vsed alwayes to put as an aduersatiue, the terme spiritually, as though carnally, and spiritually might not agrée in one. Now for all that he would place them both in heauē where is no carnallyty but all the maner of being, spirituall, where is no grossenes at all the secrecie of the manner of which life is hidden from vsus, and such as eye hath not séen, or eare heard, or ascended into the hart and thought of man.
I know these termes carnally and corporally may hauehave a good vnderstanding out of the mouth of him that had not defamed them with grossenes, or made them aduersaries to spirituall:Now Christ may be sayd to be corporally & carnally in heauen. and a man may say Christ is corporally in heauen, because the truth of his body is there, and carnally in heauen, because his flesh is truly there, but in this vnderstanding both the wordes carnally and corporally, may be coupled with the word Spiritually, which is agaynst this authors teaching, who appointeth the word spiritually to be spoken of Christes presence in the man that receiued the sacrament worthely which spech I do not disalow, but as Christ is spiritually in the man that dooth receiue the Sacrament worthely: so is he in him spiritually before be receiue, or els he can not receiue worthely, as I hauehave before said. And by this appeareth how this author, to frame his generall solution, hath vsed neither of the tearmes, really, carnally and corporally or spiritually, in a conuenient order, but hath in his distribution misused them notably. For Christ in his diuine nature is really eueryevery where,Christ is present in the sacrament as he is in heauen. and in his humaine nature is carnally and corporally, as these words signify substāce of the flesh and body, continually in heauen to the day of iudgement, & neuertheles after that signification present in the sacrament also. And in those termes in that signification the fathers hauehave spoken of the effect of the eating of Christ in the sacrament, as in the perticuler solutions to the authors here after shall appear. Mary as touching the vse of the word figuratiuely, to say that Christ is figuratiuely in the bread and wine, is a saying which this author hath not proued at all, but is a doctrine before this diuerse times reproued, and now by this author in England renewed.