heavenly kingdome to his Apostles giving to them like commission and equall authority to preach and teach the same through all the world saying in the last chapter of Matthew after the words before declared that all power was given to him in heaven and in earth Goe ye forth and teach all nations baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Sonne and of the holy Ghost teaching them to keepe all those things which I have commanded you Christ also in the 30. chapter of Iohn said the evening after his resurrection when he appeared to his Disciples the dores being shut As my Father hath sent me I doe send you and after he had so said he breathed upon them saying Whose sinnes soever ye shall forgive be forgiven and whose sinnes ye shall retaine be retained And likewise had said to them all before his death in the 18. chapter of Matthew what things soever ye shall binde upon earth I shall be bound in heaven and what things soever ye shall lose upon earth shall be loosed in heaven which power hee gave to theâ— all equally alike as wâ— to all the residue as to Peter Which authority Christ declareth in the 20. chapter of Iuke to be high and to be regarded of all men and not to be contemned in any wife saying He that heareth you heareth me and he that heareth me heareth my Father of heaven that hath sent me and he that despiseth you despiseth me and he that despiseth me despiseth my Father of heaven that hath sent mee At the day of iudgement Sodome and Gomorrah which heard not of Christ shall be in better case then such despisers shall be But here the Bishop of Rome steppeth in and saith Peter had authority given to him above all the residue of the Apostles for Christ said to him in the 10. chapter of Matthew Thou art Peter and upon this make I shall build my Church and I shall give thee the keyes of the kingdome of heaven and whatsoever thou shall binde upon earth shall be bound in the heavens this said Christ and Saint Peter is buried at Rome whose successor I â—…and ought to rule the Church as Peter did and to be Porter at heaven gates as Peter was And Christ said also to Peter after his resurrection Feede my sleepe which words he spake to him onely so that thereby he had authority over all that be of Christs flocke and I as â—is successour have the same and therefore who so will not obey me King or Prince I will curse him and deprive him his kingdome or seignorie for all power is given to me that Christ had and I am his Vicar generall as Peter was here in earth over all and none but I as Christ is in heaven This ambitious and pompous objection is made by him and his adherents and hath of late yeeres much troubled the world and made dissention debate and open warre in all parts of Christendome and nourished the same But if the Bishop of Rome would take those places after the right sense of them as both the Apostles themselves taught us and all the antient best learned and most holy interpreters doe expound them the world should be more at quietnesse then it is where now by wrong interpretation the Scripture is perverted and another Gospell in that poynt preached unto us than ever the Apostles preached so that though an Angell came from heaven and would tell us such new expositions of those places as is now made to turne the words which were spoken for spirituall authority of preaching the word of God and ministring of the Sacraments to a worldly authority wee ought to reject him as Saint Paul saith in the first chapter to the Galathians But to open the true sense of the Scripture in the places aforesaid it is to be observed that Christ in the said 16. chapter of Matthew asked his Disciples whom men did say that he was whereunto after answer given by them diversly some saying that he was Iohn Baptist some saying that he was Elias some saying that he was Ieremie or one of the Prophets Christ asked them whom doe yee say that I am whereunto Peter answered for them all for of all of them the question was asked as he was alwaies ready to make answer Thou art Christ the Sonne of God that liveth Iesus answered Blessed be thou Simon the sonne of Iona for flesh and bloud hath not revealed this unto thee but my Father which is in heaven And I say to thee Thou art Peter and upon this rocke I shall build my Church and the gates of hell shall not prevaile against it that is to say upon this rocke of thy confession of mee to be the Sonne of God I shall build my Church for this confession containeth the whole summary of our faith and salvation Which confession first was spoken by the mouth of Peter Who of all the twelve Apostles that Christ chose to send into the world to preach his word was the first that with his mouth uttered that confession and knowledging by which all christian men must be saved and without which no man can be saved as it is written in the 10. chapter to the Romans by Paul The word of saith that we doe preach is at hand in thy mouth and in thine heart for if thou confesse with thy mouth our Lord Iesus and with thy heart doe beleeve that God raised him from death to life thou shalt be saved Vpon this first confession of Peter and not upon the person of Peter the Church is builded As Chrysostome expoundeth that place in the 26. Sermon of the feast of Pentecost saying Not upon the person of Peter but upon the faith Christ hath builded his Church And what is the faith This thou art Christ the Sonne of God that liveth What is to say upon this rocke that is upon this confession of Peter And with this saying of Chrysostome all antient expositors treating that place doe agree For it we should expound that place that the Church is builded upon the person of Peter we should put another foundation of the Church than Christ which is directly against Saint Paul saying in the 3. chapter of the first Epistle to the Corinthians no man may put any other foundation but that which is put already which is Christ Iesu and therefore that exposition that the person of Peter should be the foundation of the Church should make of the Trinitie a quaternitie and put a fourth person besides the Trinitie to be the foundation of the Church And this first confession of Peter by faith that Christ is the Sonne of God is the preheminence and primacy that Peter had before the other spoken of in the tenth of Matthew wherein reciting the names of the twelve Apostles chosen by Christ it is written The first is Simon Peter For he first confessed that faith that all men must be saved by For who so doth agree with Peter in
A SERMON PREACHED ON PALME-SVNDAY BEFORE KING HENRY the VIII By CVTHBERT TONSTALL Bishop of DVRESME LONDON Printed by Thomas Harper M. DC XXXIII TO The Honourable Knight Sir IOHN TONSTALL Servant to her Sacred Majestie AND To the Right Noble Lady his WIFE The Publisher Consecrates This Devotes Himselfe Wishes all Happinesse T. H. Hoc sentite in vobis quod in Christo Iesu c. Ad Philippen 2. Let the same minde be in you which was also in Christ Iesus who being in the forme of God thought it not robbery to be equall with God But made himselfe of no reputation and tooke upon him the forme of a servant and was made in the likenesse of men And being found in fashion as a man he humbled himselfe and became obedient unto death even the death of the Crosse Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him and given him a Name which is above every Name That at the Name of Iesus every knee should bow of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth and that every tongue should confesse that Iesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father THis is in English the sentence of the Epistle of this day And first I doe intend by your patience to declare particularly the literall sence therof containing the infinite and inestimable humility and obedience of our Saviour Iesu Christ Secondly I doe intend to speake of disobedience of men by pride done to man against Gods law And how that may be eschued Thirdly I intend to speake of disobedience of all men by pride done to Almighty God against Gods law And how that may be amended And so to make an end And to returne to the first Saint Paul in the second chapter to the Philippians next before the words of the Epistle of this day commanding humility with charity to be used saith Yee must thinke by humility every man to be your superiour not considering every one of you his owne furtherance but the furtherance of other And therefore he exhorteth all men by the example of Christ not to regard nor to take heed to their owne advancement but the advancement of other saying See the same minde be in you that is in Iesu Christ that is to say shew humility and patience for the wealth of other as Christ did Whose high degree the Apostle Paul here first speaketh of From which he was content to come downe for our sake For he being in the forme of God thought it no robbery to be equall with God what is this to say in the forme of God The sense thereof is this He was in full substance in full essence in full glory in eternitie equall with his father As for to put for our better erudition of things incomprehensible farre above our capacitie an example of things that we may understand to direct us in some part to the attaining of higher things As the brightnesse is in the fire and as the image or print is in a seale and as a word is in the minde so the Sonne of God is in the Father For the brightnesse is as soone as the fire is and the print is within the seale as soon as the seale is And the word that man will expresse is in the minde as soone as the minde hath conceived it Saint Paul in the beginning of his Epistle to the Hebrewes saith that the sonne of God is the shining of the glory of the Father As in the foresaid example the brightnesse is of the fire and figure of his substance as the print is of the seale supporting all things by the word of his strength and vertue as the minde bringeth forth the word And where saint Paul saith that Christ thought it no robbery to be equall with God he meaneth that he made not himselfe equall to God by usurpation but God the Father begate him in the beginning equall to himselfe For if he should have made himselfe equall to God not being so by nature he should have save fallen by ravyn as Lucifer did For he because he would make himselfe equall to God being but a creature did fall and of an Angell was made the Divell and this his pride he perswaded to man by which he was overthrowne himselfe saying to Eve before the fall of Adam Taste of the fruit that is forbidden you and ye shall be as Gods That is to say in effect take upon you by usurpation that thing that yee have not by creation for so was I overthrowne But Christ was borne in the beginning equall to his Father not made after equall and borne of the substance of the Father Wherefore he did not usurpe equality unto God but was in that equality in which hee was borne in the beginninâ—… It followeth in the text But he did abase himselfe taking upon him the forme of a servant which he did not losing the forme of God in which he was before but taking the forme of man which he was not before And thereby he was made inferiour to his Father And yet he abode still equall with him both in one person that is to say by reason that he was the word of God equall to his Father and by reason he was man inferiour to him one sonne of God and the same sonne of man One the sonne of man and the same the Sonne of God Not two Sons of God God and man but one Sonne of God and man God without beginning man from a certaine beginning our Lord Iesu Christ For as God doth grant to his creatures being temporall and subject to suffering that they may beget the same thing that they are how much more God the Father being eternall and impassible did beget his sonne not of another substance than he himselfe is but of the same Which is yet to our great admiration because he begat him without any alteration and in such equality with himselfe that neither in power nor in age the Father goeth before the Sonne But the Sonne doth attribute unto the Father and not to himselfe all that he hath and may because hee is not of himselfe but of the father He is equall to the Father but he had that same of his Father Nor he tooke not of himselfe to be equall but he is equall by nature As he was ever borne he was ever equall Wherefore the Father begat him not inequall to himselfe And after he was borne gave to him equality but in begetting him gave it unto him because he begat him equall not inferiour to himselfe But yet he saith his Father is superiour to him because he tooke the forme of a servant not losing the forme of God by which forme of a servant he was made inferiour not onely to his Father but also to himselfe as to the Sonne of God and to the holy Ghost Nor onely he was inferiour to the Trinity in his forme of manhood but also he was made inferiour under Angels And he was also inferiour unto
some men that is to say to his Mother and to Ioseph whom men tooke to be his Father to whom he was subject as it is written in the second chapter of Luke And for the forme of a servant he said My Father is superiour unto me And for the forme of God which he never left he said in the tenth chapter of Iohn I and my Father are one thing that is to say one substance In forme of God he was superiour to himselfe and in forme of man he was inferiour to himselfe And therefore not without a cause the Scripture saith both the Sonne equall to the Father and the Father superiour to the Sonne the one for the forme of God the other for the forme of man without confounding the one nature into the other both natures of God and man being in one person In the forme of man which he tooke for us hee was borne and he suffered and hee arose from death to life and ascended into heaven By the first two that is to say by his birth and his passion he shewed to us our estate By the two last that is to say his resurrection and his ascention he shewed to us an example of our reward The two first all that be borne doe feele and the two last we shall attaine if we doe beleeve in him And as the Apostle saith Christ thought it no robbery to be equall with God so Saint Iohn in the beginning of his Gospell saith That the word which is the Sonne was God And as Paul saith here That he did abase himselfe to take upon him the forme of a servant so Saint Iohn saith The word of God is made flesh that is to say Man and hath dwelt amongst us God and man in one person For as the number of persons is not increased when the soule is knit to the body to make thereby one man so is not in Christ the number of persons increased when man is knit to the word of God to make one Christ It followeth in the Text He was made in similitude of men that is to say he tooke all our nature upon him albeit he was without sinne and he left no carnall procreation by generation carnall Nor that onely was in him that appeared in outward visage his manhood but godhead also was in him For he was not onely man but in his person godhead was knit with manhood And therefore he saith here that he was like to men but more was in him then is in men For we be made of soule and body he had both soule and body and godhead and therefore he saith here in similitude of men As Saint Paul saith in the eighth chapter to the Romans God sent his Sonne into the world in similitude of sinfull flesh not because hee lacked flesh but because the flesh that he tooke lacked sinne and yet was it like to our flesh which is subject to sinne like by nature but not like by wickednesse It followeth in the Text That in shape he was found as a man that is to say where hee was without bodily shape he tooke upon him the for me and shape of a man abiding still God as he was before but in figure that is to say in flesh he was made a man and clad with manhood as with a cloathing not that his godhead was changed thereby into manhood as the members of a man be not changed by putting on of a new garment And he saith that he was found in shape as a man because hee seemed outwardly but one of the common sort of men and yet he was more then so For he was God therewith and yet was he a very man in nature not in phantasie and imagination Saint Paul also in the second chapter of the first Epistle to Timothy calleth him a man saying There is one Mediator of God and man A man Christ Iesu And as he is in the forme of God perfect God so is he in the forme of man a perfect man It followeth in the Text Christ hath humbled himselfe and became obedient unto death Here wee may learne humilitie as Christ doth teach us in the 11. of Matthew saying Learne of me for I am meeke and humble in heart He was made for thee a man without sinne And thou sinfull man why wilt thou not come to him that calleth thee and saith Come to me all ye that doe travell and be overcharged and I shall refresh you Thou proud sinfull man why art thou so proud Christ became obedient for thy sake to be incarnate and to take part of the mortality of man He was obedient so farre that hee suffered First to be tempted of the devill He was obedient to suffer the mocking of the people of Iewes He was obedient to suffer to be bound robbed and spitted at to be stricken and to be scourged And yet he was further obedient to dye for thee thou sinfull man It was a great humility at his birth to lye in the manger with beasts for lacke of a Cradle It was a more humility to live thirty three yeeres amongst sinners he being without spot of sinne The most abundand humility was that he suffered upon the Crosse betwixt two murtherers It was a hard suffering that he suffered for wicked men it was more hard that he suffered of wicked men And the most hardest of all was that hee suffered with wicked men the same death that wicked men murtherers doe suffer It followeth in the Text. That he suffered the death of the Crosse which death was worst of all other kindes of death For those that were put to that death were first nailed upon the Crosse hands and feet drawne on length and stretched abroad hanged up in the ayre quicke naked and bleeding not because longer life should follow thereby but because the death it selfe was prolonged to make the paine the more lest the shortnesse therof should lesse have beene felt Hanging or drowning or striking off of the head be paines soone overpassing but the death of the Crosse long time doth indure In which they were wont to breake their legges to make them dye more painfully as we reade in the 19. chapter of Iohn This death of the Crosse was the worst death that the Iewes could imagine for him to dye but yet Christ did choose his death and intended to make it to be his signe and to make of it his badge that all men beleeving in him should in their foreheads make his signe of the Crosse as it was prophecied and figured before in the 9. chapter of Ezechiel and glory in the Crosse of Christ As Saint Paul in the last chapter to the Galathians saith God forbid that I should glory in any thing but in the Crosse of our Lord Iesus Christ by which the world is crucified to me and I to the world There was nothing before more intolerable to the flesh of man then death of the Crosse And there is now nothing more glorious set