Ioh. 5.11.12 who hath given to vs eternall life and this life is in his Sonne He that hath the Sonne hath life and he that hath not the Sonne hath not life For as r Math 13.44 he who found a treasure hid in a field could not claime any right vnto it till he bought the field So cannot we challenge Å¿ Col. 2.3 the treasures of wisdome knowledge and of that t Ioh. 1.16 fulnesse of graces which is in Christ till he himselfe be ours and so ours that we be in him and one with him by a most reall vnion of his person with our persons EVEN as u Rom. 6.5 the graffe is one tree with the stocke wherein it is graffed x Ioh. 15.1 the vine and the branches are one plants y 1 Cor. 12.12 the head and the members are one body a Eph. 5.31.32 the husband and the wife are one flesh b Eph 2.20.21 the foundation and the stones builded vpon it are one Temple and to come to the similitude of my Text the bread which was no part of vs because it is without vs when it is eaten becoÌ„meth a part of our flesh and of our bodies So ye see not onely by the similitude of eating but also by all the rest that our vnion with Christ is so necessary that as a man cannot liue without meate nor a house stand without a foundation no more can we liue stand and withstand in the evill day without our vnion with Christ according to his own saying c Ioh. 15.5 I am the vine ye are the branches He that abideth in me and I in him the same briugeth forth much fruit for without me or severed from me ye can doe nothing Ye see also that he is vnited with vs in all that is his i. in both his natures d Eph. 5.30 In his manhood for we are members of his body of his flesh and of his bones And in his Godhead For e 1 Cor. 6.7 he that is ioyned vnto the Lord is one Spirit Likewise we are vnited with him in all that is ours i. not only in our soules but also in our bodies as the Apostle saith f 1 Cor. 6.15 Know we not that your bodies are the members of Christ IF THIS had beene diligently and religiously observed there should not be any controversie betweene Papists vs about the manner of the eating of Christ for if to eate Christ be no other thing but to vnite Christ vnto our selues if we know how we are vnited with him we cannot chuse but know how we eate him If we be one with him corporally that is after an outward and corporall manner then we care him corporally But if our vnion with him be spirituall doubtlesse the mouth wherwith we eate him must be a spirituall mouth Papists say that our eating of Christ is both spirituall and corporall That out of the Sacrament it is spirituall And many Papists as g Biel super can Miss lect 8â— Gabriell Biel h â—aâ—â—tan in 3 part q 80. art vlt. Caietan i Cusan epist 7. ad Bohemos Cusanus k Ianseni concordant c 59 Iansenius l Tapper explicat art 15 Lovaniens Tapper m Hessel in lib de commun sub vnaspecie Hesselius and others acknowledge that Christ in this whole Chapter speaketh of the spirituall eating only n Bellarm. de Eucharist lib. 1. cap. 5. Bellarmin with the rest of the Societie and other Popish Doctors grant that wee must take in that sence all the words of Christ from the seven and twentith vnto the one and fiftie verse which now I expound But that from henceforth beginning at the one fiftie verse vnto the end of the Chapter Christ speaketh of the Eucharist which opinion Cusanus refuteth by these words of Christ vers 53. Exceptye eate the flesh of the Son of man and drinke his blood ye haue no life in you saying that o Cusan epist 7. ad Bohem. Necesse estâ— quod si de omnibus sanctis debet verificari qui habent vitamillam divinaÌ„ quod non imelligitur de visibili seu Sacramentali manducatione sed de spirituali if they must be verified of all the Saints which haue this divine life they must not be vnder stood of the visible or Sacramentall but of the spirituall eating Which is true Yet all Papists agree that in the Sacrament Christ is eaten not onely spiritually by faith but also corporally by the mouth of the body in such sort that the true body of Christ entereth into their mouthes and is received into their stomackes If ye aske how they can beleeue such a moÌ„strous Doctrine They answere that Christ affirmeth in this Chapter that we must eate his flesh drinke his blood And that in the Sacrament he hath commaunded vs to eate his body saying Take eate This is my bidy To refuse to eate him were disobedience To aske how is incredulitie like vnto that of the Iewes of Capernaum p Ioh 6 52. Rhennsta who stroue amongst themselues saying HOW can this man giue vs his flesh to eate This say they is the literall sence and this sence they will follow BVT first if the literall sence must be alwayes followed why beleeue they not as the Anthropomorphits did that God hath a body as we haue seeing God saith that he hath eyes eares hands feete c Why shake they not hands with the Arrians and deny Christ to be God because he himselfe said q Ioh. 14.28 My Father is greater then I Certainely if they had been in Nicodemus his place they would not haue asked of Christ r Ioh. 3.4 How can a man be borne when he is old but said vnto him Lord feeing thou hast said that we must be borne againe we beleeue that we shall enter the second time into our mothers wombe and be borne againe And if they had bin standing by the Samaritane Woman they would haue naught her to beleeue that Christ is reall and substantiall water because he called himselfe water May they not also with as good reason expouÌ„d literally that which Å¿ Pro. 9.5 the Wisdome in the Proverbs t Cant. 5.1 the Spouse in Salemons Song u Esa 55.1 God in Esaiah speaketh of the furnishing of their Table with beastes honey milke bread and wine And when God saith x Psal 81.10 Open thy mouth wide and I will fill it y Cant 5.1 eate drinke abundantly if we must alwayes cleaue to the leaues of the words we must prepare our throats our bellies and drinke stoutly till we be drunke SECONDLY if those speeches must be taken allegorically of meate and drinke of another kinde then those which are earthly and vsuall amongst vs it is no offence to aske how we may be made partakers of them To aske how the things which GOD alone doth may be done as how he created the world How
heauen and earth saith the Lord He is infinite and without going without comming without alteration without generation without corruptioÌ„ without any motion whatsoever x August ad Volusian Epist 3. Nouit vbique totus esse nullo contineri loco Nouit venire noÌ„ recedendo vbi erat Nouit abire non deserendo quo venerat he filleth the whole world not as the water not as the aire not as the light it selfe as if with the lesser part of himselfe he did sill the lesser part of the world and with the greater part of himselfe the greater part thereof He can he all every where and contained no where He can come and not leaue the place wherein he was He can goe away and not leaue the place wherevnto he came IF WE say that he came downe from heaven because he was foreordeined sent anointed approved confirmed of God So were all the Apostles So are all the true Ministers of God Yet the Scripture saith not of any of them that they are come downe from heaven Christ saith that y Mat. 21.25 the Baptisme of Iohn was from heaven And S. Iames saith that a Iam. 1.17 every good gift and every perfect gift is from aboue and commeth down from the Father of lights Yet S. Iohn comparing himselfe with Christ saith of himselfe He that is of the earth is earthly and speaketh of the earth But of Christ he saith exclusiuely to all creatures He that commeth from heaven is aboue all All Gods servants are borne on earth and called from heaven but they come not downe from heaven They receiue from heaven but from heaven they bring not the doctrine which they teach vs. Likewise all the gifts of God are created on earth by God who is in heaven And therfore S. Iames saith that they come from him But they are not in heaven nor elsewhere before God create them on earth Whereas Christ was in heaven before he came downe from heaven as he said to his Disciples b Ioh. 6.62 What and if ye shall see the Sonne of man ascend vp where he was before And being on earth he feared not to say to Nicodemus that even then c Ioh. 3.16 he was in heaven Which cannot be said of the gift of God which when they are come from heaven and are on the earth are not in heaven Yea the Angels themselues when they come from heaven vnto vs are no more in heaven till they returne vnto it againe THIS then is a particular speech and a phrase of the Scripture appropriated to God who is said to come downe from heaven when he maketh himselfe knowne vnto the world by some strange and vnaccustomed worke as d Serm. of the righteous mans evils and of the Lords deliveraÌ„ces Serm. 9. Sect. 3. 4. I haue shewed else-where And therefore when Christ saith that he is come downe from heaven he will haue vs to vnderstand and beleeue 1. that he is God 2. that he hath made himselfe manifest to the world by an extraordinary worke even the most wonderfull that ever was or ever shall be in the world He meaneth his Incarnation whereby e 1 Tim. 3.16 God was made manifest in the flesh not by conversion of the Godhead into the manhood or of the manhood into the Godhead not also by confusion of the two natures into one But by that most wonderfull vnion whereby f Paul Aquileienf contra Felicem l. 1. Totus in suo Totus in nostro Idem in vtroque Non alter in suo alter in nostro remaining whole in that which is his and whole in that which is ours he is the same in both Not another in that which is his and another in that which is ours And g Leo in Natiuit domini serm 2. De coelesti sede descendens a paterna glorianoÌ„ recedens c. so coÌ„ming downe from the heavenly seat and not departing from the glory of his Father being inuisible in that which is his was made visible in that which is ours the incomprehensible was comprehended he that was before all times tooke his being in time the Lord of all tooke the forme of a servant God impassible disdained not to be a passible man and the immortall to be subiect to the Lawes of death This is his comming downe from heaven h Bernard de Aduentu demini serm 3. Non venit qui aberat sed apparuit qui latebat He was not absent from vs before he came But he was hid till then and then he appeared TO MAKE this more cleare let vs either learne or remember that the Scripture maketh mention of three commings of Christ the first is past the second is the third shall be Venit His first comming was in the infirmity of the flesh wherein i Heb. 9.26 once in the end of the world he hath appeared to put away sinne Of this comming Saint Iohn saith that k Ioh 13.3 Iesus knew that he was come from God and went to God l Bernard de Coenâ domini serm 2. A deâ— exiuit non eum deserens Et ad Deum vadit non nos derelinqueâ—â— He came from God saith Bernard not leaving him And he goeth to God not leaving vs. He came from God when being the Sonne of God in heaven without a mother he became the son of a woman on earth without a Father For his Father knew not a woman and his mother knew not a man This is a most wonderfull comming And the end of it was to take away sinne or as S. Iohn speaketh * 1 Ioh 3.8 For this purpose the Sonne of God was manifested that he might destroy the workes of the Devill and so redeeme vs He went to God when triumphing over the Divell he carried his glorified body into heaven and sate on the right hand of God When he said to his Disciples Venit that m Ioh. 16.5 he was to goe his way to him that sent him sorrow filled their heart But he to comfort them said n Ioh. 14.18 I will not leaue you orphanes I will come to you Speaking of his second comming by the holy Spirit into our hearts The end of which comming is to be vnto vs o Ioh. 16.13 a Doctor to instruct vs in his truth p Rom. 8.14 A conductor to lead vs in his wayes q Ioh. 14.16 17. A comforter to abide with vs for ever and comfort vs in all our troubles He spake of his third comming Venturus est when he said to his Disciples I will goe and prepare a place for you and I will come againe and receiue you vnto my selfe that where I am there ye may be also The end of this comming shall be to saue and glorifie vs For x Col. 3.3 when Christ who is our life shall appeare then shall we also appeare with him in glory THIS Text is of his first
the body and the Spirit the manhood and the Godhead of Christ for he is one with vs in both natures Even as the same author saith that f Idem adv Nestor lib. 4. cap. 6. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 we are sanctified and revived spiritually and corporally that is to say not onely in our spirits but also in our bodies because saith he g 1 Cor. 15 53. this corruptible must put on incorruption and this mortall must put on immortalitie h Ex Theodoreto dialogo 2. So S. Ignace saith that Christ is ioyned to the Father 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 carually and spiritually i.e. both in his humane and divine nature and not partly by a carnall partly by a divine manner For the manner of the vnion of Christ with the Father is wholly divine And so also the manner of our vnion with him is altogether divine and spirituall Dare Papists say that we are ioyned with Christ naturally although Cyrillus saith that our vnion with him i Cyril in Iohan lib. 11. cap. 26. is naturall Yet he speaketh so because our nature is ioyned with his natures as he prooveth because k 1 Cor. 10.27 the Church is Christs body and we are members of Christ in particular So then in regard of the obiects which are vnited this vnion is naturall reall substantiall corporall spirituall because his whole person is ioyned with ours And therfore I say that we must eate Christ not onely as bread but also as living And if as man he is bread and as God is living we must eate him in both natures together For in both natures he is our Mediatour and the bread whereby we liue YET in this eating wee must obserue an order Like l Gen. 28.11 Iacobs ladder by his manheed he toucheth the earth By his God head he toucheth heavē And by both vnited together he ioyneth the earth with heaven reconcileth man with God obtaineth to vs the service of the Angels of God which m Ioh. 1.51 ascend and descend vpō him and by him vpon vs But in such sort that by him as he is man they alcend from vs and goto him as he is God and from him as he is God descend vnto vs by him as he is man In the same order doe we cate him and abide in him and he in vs. n Aug. in Ioh. trac 42. Adnentus eius humanitas eius Mansio eius diuinit as eius Diuinitas eius quo imus Humanitas eius qua imus Nisi nobis fieret qua iremus nunquam ad illum manentē perueniremus He commeth vnto vs saith S. Austin by his humanitie He abideth with vs by his divinitie His divinitie is that wherevnto we goe His humanitie is that whereby we goe If he were not vnto vs the way whereby we may goe we should never come vnto him in that wherein he abideth with vs. But because I haue spoken of this bread largely inough vpon the first part of the Verse I leaue it to come to the third part of my division which is OF THE EATING of the living Bread and of the manner thereof CHAPTER V. I. To eate Christ is to be vnited vnto him II. Necessitie of our vnion with Christ III. Expressed in the Scripture by many similitudes and in the sixt of S. Iohn by the similitude of Eating IV. All Papists hold that Christ is eaten in the Sacrament with the mouth of the body V. The liter all sence is not alwayes to be followed VI. When it is lawfull when not to aske How VII Papists agree not among themselues concerning divers circumstances of the bodily eating TO EATE is to chew and worke the meate with our teeth if it be solide and strong to sup and swallow it downe if it be liquid to receiue it into our stomackes to disgest it there till it be turned into blood and changed into the substance of all the parts of our bodies that thereby this our mortall life may be maintained which otherwise should decay and perish Even so saith Christ a Ioh. 6.53.54 Except ye eate the flesh of the Sonne of man and drinke his blood ye haue no life in you And of those that eate him he saith Who so eateth my stesh and drinketh my blood hath eternall life and I will raise him vp at the last day Whereby it is easie to be vnderstood that this eating and drinking is a certaine action whereby Christ is vnited vnto vs so neere that we sucke life out of him yea that he himselfe beōmeth b Col. 3 4. our life as the Apostle calleth him c Aug. Confess l. 7. c. 10. Nec tu me in te mutabis sicut cibum carnis tuae sed tu mutaberis in me It is true that the bread of the earth when we eate it cannot feed vs till it be changed into our bodies because we are more excellent then it is But the bread which came downe from heaven is more excellent then we are and therefore that we may be fed by it we are changed into it made members of his bodie of his flesh and of his bones Even as the fire turneth into fire all things that feed on it THIS leadeth vs by the hand to the consideration of the necessitie of the eating of this bread that is to say of our vnion and communion with Christ Our felicitie is to be ioyned with GOD d Psal 36.9 with whom is the fountaine of life But e Esa 59.2 sinne separateth betweene vs and our God For f 1 Ioh. 1.1.5 he is light and in him there is no darknesse at all g Eph. 5.8 we are darkenesse and in vs by nature there is no light at all h 2 Cor. 6.15 What communion hath light with darknesse O Lord thou hast made vs for thine owne selfe that sticking fast vnto thee we may be blessed by thee But loe by our sinne we i Eph. 2.11.12.13 are far off and k Psal 73.27.28 loe they that are far from thee shall perish But it is good for vs to draw neere vnto thee neither is our heart at rest till it returne vnto thee Tell vs then ô Lord how shall we be againe ioyned with thee The Sonne the Word the Wisedome of God answereth l Ioh 14.6 No man cōmeth vnto the Father but by me And S. Paul telleth vs why and how saying m Eph. 2.13 Now in Christ Iesus ye who sometimes were farre off are made nigh by the blood of Christ Aske ye why Because by the blood of his sacrifice he hath satisfied the iustice of God asswaged the burning fire of his indignation and made attonement for vs as n Heb. 7 22. Suretie and o Heb. 9.15 Mediatour of the new Testament Aske ye how Because we are in him He is our p Exod. 28.11.12.30 high Priest who beareth vs vpon his shoulders and vpon his heart before the Lord q 1
the Word was made flesh c. is a most horrible sinne a August ad Volusian Epist 3. In talibus rebus Iota ratio factiest potentia facientia For in such things all the reason of that which is don is the power of the doer And therefore Zacharias sinned when he asked b Luk. 1.18.20 How shall I knew this for I am an old man and my wise well strucken in yeares But when any thing is to be done by vs it is not diffidence is not curiositie it is docilitie it is dutie to aske How we should doe it that we may doe it well and according to the will of the commander so that wee goe to him and aske counsell at his mouth how he will haue it to be don The Iewes of Capernaum c Cyrill in Ioh. lib. 3. cap. 30. Et lib. 4. c. 14. through presumption and arrogancie asked d Ioh. 6.52.60.67 how Christ might giue them his flesh to eate and calling his speech an hard saying went backe and walked no more with him whereas e Chrysost in Ioh. hom 46. they should haue remained with him and not departed they should haue asked and not despaired O thrice and foure times happie had they been if they had propounded to Christ an How of docilitie as Nicodemus did when having a good conceit of Christ esteeming him so wise that he said nothing absurdly and not vnderstaÌ„ding his words asked of him f Ioh. 3.4 How they should be vnderstood was instructed How more happie had they beene if they had come to Christ with an How of faith as Maneah did to the Angel saying g Iudg. 13.12 Now let thy words come to passe How shall we order the childe and how shall we do vnto him And as the Virgin Mary did when beleeving the words of the Angel Gabriel that she should be the mother of the Sonne of God not knowing if any action of hers should concurre with the power of God in that work she asked h Luk. 1.34 How shall this be seeing I know not a man So we beleeue that we must eate Christ For seeing he hath said it is there any Christian that dare deny it This eating is commanded vnto vs and to be done by vs. Therefore to aske how we should doe it and to be carefull that we sinne not by doing it amisse is docilitie and faith THIRDLY Papists themselues when they are hoarse with crying against vs because we aske and teach how Christ is eaten seeke in their owne braines the exposition of this How and decide the question in words so monstrous that we could not beleeue it if they were not written in their own books NICOLAS the II. Pope of Rome and a Councell of an hundred and foureteene Bishops which he assembled at Rome in the yeare of Christ 1059. constrained Berengarius to confesse that i Decret 3. parte de consecrat dist 2. can 42. Ego Berengarius Scilicet paneÌ„ vinum quae in altari ponuÌ„tur post confecrationem non sâ—luÌ„ sacramentuÌ„ sed etiam verum corpus sanguineÌ„ domini nostri Iesu Christi esse sensualiter non solum sacramentum sed in veritate manibus sacerdotuÌ„ tractari frangi fidelium dentibus atteri not onely the SacrameÌ„t but also the true body of our Lord Iesus Christ is truly and sensibly handled and broken with the hands of the Priests and is brayed with the teeth of the faithfull This canon is against the Scripture which saith Ioh. 19.36 that a bone of him shall not be broken And therefore the Romane Doctours departing from their maxime That the Pope and the Councels approved by him cannot erre say that Christ without any such bruising goeth down from the mouth to the stomacke whole and intire but hid vnder the accidents of the bread There is in S. Bernards workes a Sermon de Coenadomini of the Lords Supper but it is none of his In it the author saith Speciem panis rodit aliquando sorex paruissimus Christianus recipit etiam pessimus virtutem gratiae spiritualis non nisi praedestinatus recipit A little mouse sometimes gnaweth the spece of bread a lewd Christian receiveth it also whereas he onely who is predestinated receiueth the vertue of the spirituall grace By the speces of bread he vnderstandeth the accidents thereof such as are the colour the smell the sauour the weight and such like but it would be a good peece of learning to tell vs how a mouse can gnaw and a wicked man eate accidents THOMAS the Angelicall Doctor of the Roman Church maintaineth that not onely wicked men but also fowles Tho. 3. parte q. 80. art 3. ad â—ni De defectibus occurrentib circa Missam beasts and wormes may eate Christs body in the Sacrament and in all the Masse-bookes many instructions are given to the Priests what must be don with the mouse which hath eaten Christs body and with the body of Christ which the Priest or a sicke man hath vomited If ye aske how long he continueth there They answere to that also The Priest praying in the Masse that k Adhareat visceribus meis it may sticke fast to his bowels thinketh that he continueth for ever in his body l Glossa in can 23 Tribus gradibus Certum est quod species quam cito dentibus teruntur tam cito in coelum rapitur corpus Christi The Canonists say that as soone as the species or visible accidents are bruised with the teeth his body is rauished into heauen as if he were afraid of a snatch by the way m Thom. 3. parte q. 80. art 3. conclus Bellarm. de Eucharist lib. 14. c. 1. Thomas and the most part of the rest say that he abideth in the stomacke till the species or accidents vnder which his body was hid be consumed that is as long time as would be needfull to the naturall heat to disgest the bread whereof they are the accidents if it were in the stomacke This is their explication of the how the body of Christ is eaten in the Sacrament wherin they omit to tell vs how it goeth out againe But we say that this manner of the eating of the body of Christ is impossible in it selfe indecent and iniurious to Christ and vnprofitable to the eaters CHAPTER VI. Six reasons why it is impossible to eate Christ with the mouth of the body YE haue sundry wayes to know that it is impossible 1. n Chrysost 1 Cor. 11. homil 27. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 S. Chrysostome exhorteth vs to eate to drinke to put on Christ Shewing that those three must be done by one and the same action But by the mouth we cannot put him on Therefore by the mouth we cannot eate and drinke him Extend this argument to all the rest of the similitudes whereby our vnion with Christ is expressed The vnion of clothes with the body and of stones with
the foundation is artificiall and outward The vnion of the head with the members of the vine with the branches is naturall and inward The vnion of the husband with his wife is ciuill and inforceth not any proximitie or touching of bodies as the rest doe For they remaine one flesh although they be as far separated as the East is from the West If a bodily manner of coniunction with Christ cannot be inforced by those similitudes because it should be at one time outward and inward naturall civill and artificiall which is impossible Let Papists tell why it should be inforced by the similitude of eating If by the similitude of eating why not also by the rest Here they are muffled and cannot answer * Cusan epist 7. ad Bohemos Crâ—dere igitur baptizari manducare bibere et quicquid similiter per Christum dicitur non habet in spirituali intellectu differeÌ„tiam sed vnuÌ„ solum est quodper omnia talia varie exprimuÌ„tur scilicet quotquot receperuÌ„t eum dedit eis potestâ—tem filios dei fieri ijs qui credunt in nomine eius Cusanus one of their owne confesseth that all those similitudes and whatsoever Christ saith after that manner hath no difference in the spirituall vnderstanding but it is one thing which by all such things is diversly expressed to wit As many as received him to them gaue the power to become the Sonnes of God to them that beleeue on his Name SECONDLY in the Sacrament he giveth himselfe not as glorified in heaven but as dead vpon the crosse as he said o 1 Cor. 11.24 This is my body which is broken for you p Mar. 14.24 This is my blood which is shed for many Doe this in remembrance of me Which commandement the Apostle explaineth saying q 1 Cor. 11 26. For as often as ye eate this bread and drinke this cup ye doe shew the Lords death till he come He did giue himselfe to the Apostles so and they received him so For he was not then glorified Should we desire to receiue him otherwayes then they did To receiue him so with the mouth of the body it is impossible because he is not now dead but r Rom. 6.10 liueth vnto God This argument prevents all replyes THIRDLY if Christ were in the Sacrament wicked men yea worms mice dogs asses and other beasts might eate him But that is impossible saith Å¿ Origin in Math. 15. Verus cibus quem nullus malus potest edere Origines because if they did eate him they should abide in him as he saith vers 56. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood dwelleth in me and I in him and abiding in him they should liue for ever as he saith in my Text If any man eate of this bread he shall liue for ever and so often in the verses preceeding and following Which moved t De coÌ„secrat dist 2. caÌ„ 65 Qui discordat a Christo nec carnem eius manducat nec sanguinem bibit etiam si tantae rei SacrameÌ„tum ad iudiciuÌ„ suae praesumptionis quotidiè indifferenter accipiat S. Austin to say that he who is discordant from Christ eateth not his flesh and drinketh not his blood although he receiue daily the Sacrament of so great a thing to the condemnation of his owne presumption As likewise he saith of the Apostles that u Idem in Iohan trac 59. Illi manducabaÌ„t panem dominum Ille panem domini contra dominuÌ„ Illi vitam ille poenam they did eate the bread which is the Lord and of Iudas that he did eate the bread of the Lord against the Lord They life he paine FOVRTHLY the Lord himselfe seeing that many of his Disciples tooke his words carnally as if he had spoken of a corporall eating of his body x Athan. de verb. Christi Qui dixerit verbum contra filiuÌ„ hominis Quomodo fieri posset vt totus mundus ederet de carne ipsius quae non sufficeret paucis hominibus Ideo dominus de carnis suae manducatione loquens sui in coelum ascensus meminit vt a corporali eos manducatione abstraheret vel inde discerent carnem Christi esse cibum coelestem et in alimoniaÌ„ spiritualem dare to draw them away from bodily eating and to teach them that his flesh is a heavenly meate and is given to be spirituall food he maketh mention of his ascension into heaven saying vers 61.62 Doth this offend you What and if ye shall see the Sonne of man ascend vp wher he was before arguing This is a strong reason that y IbideÌ„ trac 27. Vel tunc videbitis quod non eo modo quo putatis erogat corpus suum Certe vel tuÌ„c intelligetis quod gratia eius non consumitur morfibus he giueth not his body after the maÌ„ner which they imagined z For the heavens must receiue him vntill the time of restitution of all things which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy Prophets because there a he appeareth in the presence of God and b maketh intercession for vs and cannot come out of that Holy place till his intercession be ended which will not be till the worlds end For c Heb. 8.4 if he were on earth he should not be a Priest But he is a Priest and therefore saith he himselfe d Math. 24.23.26 If any man say vnto you Loe here is Christ or there beleeue it not Behold he is in the desert goe not forth behold he is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 z Act 3.21 a Heb 9.24 in the secret chambers b Ro. 8.34 as when Papists say he is in the chappell on the Altar in the box beleeue it not Beleeue rather S. Paul who saith that e 2 Cor. 5.6.16 whiles we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord and henceforth know him no more after the flesh and according to his exhortatioÌ„ f Col. 3.1 2. seeke those things which are aboue where Christ sitteth on the right haÌ„d of God set your affection on things aboue not on things on earth g Bernard de Aduentu domini serm 1. Incassum laboraret erigere corda nostra nisi collocatuÌ„ in coelis salutis nostra doceret autorem In vaine would he labour to heaue vp our hearts to heaven if the authour of our salvation were not in heaven Yea most preposterously should he endevour to withdraw our hearts from the earth if Christ were on earth For h Math. 6.21 where your treasure is there will your hearts be also Fiftly if the eating of Christ with the mouth of the body were possible his manhood might be separated from his Godhead his soule from his body and the life which is in him from his person Can his Godhead which is infinite be receiued in our bodies Can his soule which is a spirit enter into our stomackes Can his quickning