PROPOSITION XIII.

PROPOSITION XIII.Concerning theCommunion, orParticipationof theBodyandBloodofChrist.[119]TheCommunionof the Body and Blood of Christ isinwardandspiritual, which is the Participation of his Flesh and Blood, by which theinward Manis daily nourished in the Hearts of those in whom Christ dwells. Of which Things theBreaking of Breadby Christ with his Disciples was aFigure, which even they who had received the Substance used in the Church for a Time, for the Sake of the Weak;[120]even asabstaining from Things strangled, andfrom Blood,the Washing one another’s Feet, and theAnointing of the Sick with Oil: All which are commanded with no less Authority and Solemnity than the former; yet seeing they are butShadowsof better Things, they cease in such as have obtained theSubstance.[119]1 Cor. 10. 16, 17. John 6. 32. 33. 35. 1 Cor. 5. 8.[120]Acts 15. 20. John 13. 14. James 5. 14.§. I.TheCommunionof the Body and Blood of Christ is aMysteryhid from all natural Men, in their first fallen and degenerate State, which they cannot understand, reach to, nor comprehend, as they there abide; neither, as they there are, can they be Partakers of it, nor yet are they able todiscern the Lord’s Body. And forasmuch as theChristian World(so called) for the most Part hath been still labouring, working, conceiving and imagining, in their own natural and unrenewed Understandings, about the Things of God and Religion; therefore hath thisMysterybeen much hid and sealed up from them, while they have been contending, quarrelling and fighting one with another about the mere Shadow, Outside, and Form, but Strangers to the Substance, Life and Virtue.§. II.TheBodyandBloodof Christ is spiritual.TheBodythen of Christ, which Believers partake of, isspiritual, and notcarnal; and hisBlood, which they drink of, ispureandheavenly, and nothumanorelementary, asAugustinealso affirmsof theBody of Christ, which is eaten, in hisTractat.Psal. xcviii.Except a Man eat my Flesh, he hath not in him Life eternal: And he saith,The Words which I speak unto you are Spirit and Life; understand spiritually what I have spoken. Ye shall not eat of this Body which ye see, and drink this Blood which they shall spill, who crucify me—I am the living Bread, who have descended from Heaven. He calls himself the Bread, who descended from Heaven, exhorting that we might believe in him, &c.Object.If it be asked then,What thatBody, what thatFleshandBloodis?Answ.Ianswer, It is thatHeavenly Seed, thatdivine, spiritual, celestial Substance, of which we spake before in thefifthandsixth Propositions.What theheavenly Seedis, whereby formerly, and also now,LifeandSalvationwas and is communicated.This is thatspiritual Body of Christ, whereby and through which he communicatethLife to Men, andSalvation to as many as believe in him, andreceive him; and whereby also Man comes to have Fellowship and Communion with God. This is proved from the 6th ofJohn, from Verse 32. to the End, where Christ speaks more at large of this Matter, than in any other Place: And indeed thisEvangelistandbeloved Disciple, who lay in the Bosom of our Lord, gives us a more full Account of thespiritual SayingsandDoctrineof Christ than any other; and it is observable, that though he speaks nothing of theCeremonyused by Christ ofbreaking Bread with his Disciples, neither in his evangelical Account of Christ’sLife and Sufferings, nor in his Epistles; yet he is more large in this Account of theParticipationof the Body, Flesh and Blood of Christ, than any of them all. For Christ, in this Chapter, perceiving that theJewsdid follow him for Love of theLoaves, desires them (Verse 27) tolabour not for the Meat which perisheth, but for that Meat which endureth for ever: But forasmuch as they, being carnal in their Apprehensions, and not understanding the spiritual Language and Doctrine of Christ, did judge theManna, whichMosesgave their Fathers, to be the most excellent Bread, as coming from Heaven; Christ, to rectify that Mistake, and better inform them, affirmeth,First, Thatit is not Moses, but hisFather, that giveth the trueBreadfrom Heaven, Ver. 32. and 48.Secondly, This Breadhe callshimself, Ver. 35. Iam theBreadof Life: And Ver. 51. Iam theliving Bread,which came down from Heaven.Thirdly, He declares that this Bread is his Flesh, Ver. 51. The Breadthat I will give, is my Flesh; and Ver. 55.For my Flesh is Meat indeed, and my Blood is Drink indeed.Fourthly, The Necessity of partaking thereof. Ver. 53.Except ye eat the Flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his Blood, ye have no Life in you.AndLastly, The blessed Fruits and necessary Effects of this Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ. Ver. 33.ThisBreadgiveth Life to the World.Ver. 50.He that eateth thereof, dieth not.Ver. 58.He that eateth of thisBread, shall live for ever.Ver. 54.Whoso eateth this Flesh, and drinketh this Blood, shall live for ever.Ver. 56.And he dwelleth in Christ, and Christ in him.Ver. 57.And shall live by Christ.The Origin, Nature and Effects of the Body, Flesh and Blood of Christ.From this large Description of the Origin, Nature, and Effects of thisBody,FleshandBlood ofChrist, it is apparent that it is spiritual, and to be understood of a spiritual Body, and not of that Body, or Temple of Jesus Christ, which was born of the VirginMary, and in which he walked, lived, and suffered in the Land ofJudea; because it is said, that itcame down from Heaven, yea, that it is he thatcame down from Heaven. Now all Christians at present generally acknowledge, that the outward Body of Christ came not down from Heaven; neither was it that Part of Christ which came down from Heaven. And to put the Matter out of Doubt, when the carnalJewswould have been so understanding it, he tells them plainly, Ver. 63.It is the Spirit that quickeneth, but the Flesh profiteth Nothing.Solid Reasons that it is his spiritual Body Christ speaks of.This is also founded upon most sound and solid Reason; because it is the Soul, not the Body, that is to be nourished by this Flesh and Blood. Now outward Flesh cannot nourish nor feed the Soul; there is no Proportion nor Analogy betwixt them; neither is the Communion of the Saints with God by a Conjunction and mutual Participation of Flesh, but of the Spirit:[121]He that is joined to the Lord is one Spirit,notone Flesh. For the Flesh (I mean outward Flesh, even such as was that wherein Christ lived and walked when upon Earth; and not Flesh, when transformed byaMetaphor, to be understood spiritually) can only partake of Flesh, as Spirit of Spirit: As the Body cannot feed upon Spirit, neither can the Spirit feed upon Flesh. And that the Flesh here spoken of is spiritually to be understood, appears further, inasmuch as that which feedeth upon it shall never die: But the Bodies of all Men once die; yea, it was necessary that the Body of Christ himself should die. That this Body, and spiritual Flesh and Blood of Christ, is to be understood of thatdivineandheavenly Seed, before spoken of by us, appears both by the Nature and Fruits of it.First, it is said,It is that which cometh down from Heaven, and giveth Life unto the World: Now this answers to thatLightandSeed, which is testified of,Johni. to be theLight of the World, and the Life of Men.This spiritual Light and Seed is as Bread to the hungry Soul.For thatspiritual LightandSeed, as it receives Place in Men’s Hearts, and Room to spring up there, is as Bread to the hungry and fainting Soul, that is (as it were) buried and dead in the Lusts of the World; which receives Life again, and revives, as it tasteth and partaketh of this heavenly Bread: And they that partake of it are said to come to Christ; neither can any have it, but by coming to him, and believing in the Appearance of hisLightin their Hearts; by receiving which, and believing in it, the Participation of this Body and Bread is known. And that Christ understands the same Thing here by his Body, Flesh and Blood, which is understood,Johni. by theLight enlightening every Man, and theLife, &c. appears; for theLightandLife, spoken ofJohni. is said to beChrist;He is the true Light: And theBreadandFlesh, &c. spoken of inJohnvi. is calledChrist; Iam theBreadof Life, saith he. Again,They that received that Light and Life, John i. 12.obtained Power to become the Sons of God, by believing in his Name: So also here,Johnvi. 35.He that cometh unto thisBreadof Life shall not hunger; and he that believes in him, who is thisBread, shall never thirst.Christ’s outward and spiritual Body distinguished.So then, as there was the outward visible Body and Temple of Jesus Christ, which took its Origin from the VirginMary; there is also the spiritual Body of Christ, by and through which He that was theWord in the Beginningwith God, and was and is GOD, did reveal himself to the Sons of Men in all Ages, and whereby Men in all Ages come to be made Partakers ofeternal Life, and to have Communion and Fellowship with God and Christ.The Patriarchs did eat of the Body of Christ.Of which Body of Christ, and Flesh and Blood, if bothAdam, andSeth, andEnoch, andNoah, andAbraham, andMoses, andDavid, and all the Prophets and holy Men of God, had not eaten, they had not had Life in them; nor could their inward Man have been nourished. Now as the outward Body and Temple was called Christ, so was also his spiritual Body, no less properly, and that long before that outward Body was in Being. Hence the Apostle saith, 1Cor.x. 3, 4. That theFathers did all eat the same spiritual Meat, and did all drink the same spiritual Drink: [For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.] This cannot be understood otherwise than of this spiritual Body of Christ; which spiritual Body of Christ, though it was the saving Food of the Righteous both before theLawand under theLaw; yet under theLawit was veiled and shadowed, and covered under divers Types, Ceremonies and Observations; yea, and not only so, but it was veiled and hid, in some Respect, under the outward Temple and Body of Christ, or during the Continuance of it; so that theJewscould not understand Christ’s Preaching about it while on Earth:[122]And not theJewsonly, but many of his Disciples, judging it anhard Saying, murmured at it;and many from that Time went back from him, and walked no more with him. I doubt not but that there are many also at this Day, professing to be the Disciples of Christ, that do as little understand this Matter as those did, and are as apt to be offended, and stumble at it, while they are gazing and following after the outward Body; and look not to that by which the Saints are daily fed and nourished.The divine Light of Christ doth make the Saints Partakers of his Body.For as Jesus Christ, in Obedience to the Will of the Father, did by theeternal Spirit offer up thatBodyfor a Propitiationfor theRemission of Sins, and finished his Testimony upon Earth thereby, in a most perfect Example of Patience, Resignation and Holiness, that all might be made Partakers of the Fruit of that Sacrifice; sohath he likewise poured forthinto the Hearts of all Mena Measure of thatdivine LightandSeedwherewith he is clothed; that thereby, reaching unto the Consciences of all, he may raise them up out ofDeathandDarknessby hisLifeandLight, andthereby they maybe made Partakers of his Body, and therethrough come to have Fellowship with the Father and with the Son.[121]1 Cor. 6. 17.[122]John 6. 60. 66.§. III.Quest.If it be asked,How and after what Manner Man comes to partake of it, and to be fed by it?Answ.Ianswerin the plain and express Words of Christ, Iam theBreadof Life, saith he;[123]he that cometh to me shall never hunger; he that believeth in me shall never thirst. And again,For my Flesh is Meat indeed, and my Blood is Drink indeed. So whosoever thou art that askest this Question, or readest these Lines, whether thou accountest thyself a Believer, or really feelest, by a certain and sad Experience, that thou art yet in the Unbelief, and findest that the outward Body and Flesh of Christ is so far from thee, that thou canst not reach it, nor feed upon it; yea, though thou hast often swallowed down and taken in that which thePapistshave persuaded thee to be the real Flesh and Blood of Christ, and hast believed it to be so, though all thy Senses told thee the Contrary;TheLutheransandCalvinistsOpinions of the Flesh and Blood of Christ in theSupperso called.or (being aLutheran) hast taken that Bread, in and with and under which theLutheranshave assured thee that the Flesh and Blood of Christ is; or (being aCalvinist) hast partaken of that which theCalvinistssay (though a Figure only of the Body) gives them who take it a real Participation of the Body, Flesh, and Blood of Christ, though they never knew how nor what Way; I say, if for all this thou findest thy Soul yet barren, yea, hungry, and ready to starve, for want of something thou longest for;knowthat thatLightwhich discovers thy Iniquity to thee, which shews thee thy Barrenness, thy Nakedness, thy Emptiness, is thatBodywhich thou must partake of, and feed upon: But that till by forsaking Iniquity thou turnest to it, comest unto it, receivest it, though thou mayest hunger after it, thou canst not besatisfied with it;[124]for it hath noCommunion with Darkness, nor canst thou drink of the Cup of the Lord, and the Cup of Devils: And be Partaker of the Lord’s Table, and the Table of Devils, 1 Cor. x. 21.How the inward Man is nourished.But as thou sufferest that smallSeed of Righteousnessto arise in thee, and to be formed into a Birth, that new substantial Birth, which is brought forth in the Soul, supernaturally feeds upon and is nourished by this spiritual Body; yea, as this outward Birth lives not but as it draws in Breath by the outward elementary Air, so this new Birth lives not in the Soul, but as it draws in and breathes by that spiritual Air or Vehicle. And as the outward Birth cannot subsist without some outward Body to feed upon, some outward Flesh, and some outward Drink, so neither can this inward Birth, unless it be fed by this inward Flesh and Blood of Christ, which answers to it after the same Manner, by Way of Analogy. And this is most agreeable to the Doctrine of Christ concerning this Matter. For as without outward Food the natural Body hath not Life, so also saith Christ,[125]Except ye eat the Flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his Blood, ye have no Life in you. And as the outward Body, eating outward Food, lives thereby, so Christ saith,[126]Thathe that eateth him shall live by him. So it is this inward Participation of thisinward Man, of thisinwardandspiritual Body, by which Man is united to God, and has Fellowship and Communion with him.[127]He that eateth my Flesh, and drinketh my Blood, saith Christ,dwelleth in me, and I in him. This cannot be understood of outward eating of outward Bread; and as by this the Soul must have Fellowship with God, so also, so far as all the Saints are Partakers of thisone Bodyandone Blood, they come also to have ajoint Communion. Hence the Apostle, 1Cor.x. 17. in this Respect saith, That they[128]being many, are oneBread,and oneBody; and to the Wise among theCorinthianshe saith,The true spiritual Supper of the Lord.TheBreadwhich we break is the Communion of the Body of Christ. This is thetrueandspiritual Supperof the Lord, which Men come to partake of, by hearing the Voice of Christ, and opening the Door of their Hearts, and so letting him in in the Manner abovesaid, according to the plain Words of theScripture,Rev.iii. 20.Behold I stand at the Door and knock; if any Man hear my Voice, and open the Door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. So that theSupper of the Lord, and thesuppingwith the Lord, and partaking of his Flesh and Blood, is no Ways limited to the Ceremony ofbreaking Breadanddrinking Wineat particular Times, but is truly and really enjoyed, as often as the Soul retires into the Light of the Lord, and feels and partakes of that heavenly Life by which the inward Man is nourished; which may be and is often witnessed by the Faithful at all Times, though more particularly when they are assembled together to wait upon the Lord.[123]John 6. 35.and55.[124]1 Cor. 6. 14.[125]John 6. 53.[126]John 6. 57.[127]John 6. 56.[128]1 Cor. 10. Verse 16.§. IV.But what Confusion the Professors of Christianity have run into concerning this Matter, is more than obvious; who, as in most other Things they have done, for want of a true spiritual Understanding, have sought to tie thisSupperof the Lord to that Ceremony used by Christ before his Death, ofbreaking Breadanddrinking Winewith his Disciples.Man is not tied to the Ceremony ofbreaking Breadanddrinking Winewhich Christ did use with his Disciples, this only was a Shadow.And though they for the most Part agree generally in this, yet how do they contend and debate one against another! How strangely are they pinched, pained, and straitened to make the spiritual Mystery agree to that Ceremony! And what monstrous and wild Opinions and Conceptions have they invented, to inclose or affix the Body of Christ to theirBreadandWine? From which Opinion not only the greatest, and fiercest, and most hurtful Contests, both among the Professors of Christianity in general, and amongProtestantsin particular, have arisen;What makes the Christian Religion hateful to theJews,Turks, andHeathens.but also such Absurdities, irrational and blasphemous Consequences have ensued, as make the Christian Religion odious and hateful toJews,Turks, andHeathens. The Professors of Christianity do chiefly divide in this Matter into three Opinions.ThePapistsFaith of Christ’s Flesh.TheFirstis of those that say,The Substance of the Bread is transubstantiated into the very Substance of that same Body, Flesh, and Blood ofChrist,which was born of the VirginMary,and crucified by theJews; sothat after theWords of Consecration, as they call them,it is no more Bread, but the Body ofChrist.TheLutheransFaith.TheSecondis of such who say,The Substance of the Bread remains, but that also that Body is in, and with, and under the Bread; so thatboth the Substance of Bread, and of the Body, Flesh, and Blood ofChrist, is there also.TheCalvinistsFaith.TheThirdis of those, that, denying both these, do affirm,That the Body ofChristis not there corporally or substantially, but yet that it is really and sacramentally received by the Faithful in the Use of Bread and Wine; but how or what Way it is there,they know not, nor can they tell; only we must believe it is there, yet so that it is only properly in Heaven.It is not my Design to enter into a Refutation of these several Opinions; for each of their Authors and Assertors have sufficiently refuted one another, and are all of them no less strong both from Scripture and Reason in refuting each their contrary Parties Opinion, than they are weak in establishing their own. For I often have seriously observed, in reading their respective Writings, and so it may be have others, that all of them do notably, in so far as they refute the contrary Opinions; but that they are mightily pained, when they come to confirm and plead for their own. Hence I necessarily must conclude, that none of them had attained to the Truth and Substance of thisMystery. Let us see ifCalvin,[129]after he had refuted the two former Opinions, be more successful in what he affirms and asserts for the Truth of his Opinion, who, after he hath much laboured in overturning and refuting the two former Opinions, plainly confesseth, that he knows not what to affirm instead of them.J. Calvin’s faith of Christ’s Flesh and Blood uncertain.For after he has spoken much, and at last concluded,That the Body of Christ is there, and that the Saints must needs partake thereof, at last he lands in these Words,Sect. 32. “But if it be asked me how it is? I shall not be ashamed to confess, that it is a Secret too high for me to comprehend in my Spirit, or explain in Words.” Here he deals very ingenuously; and yet who wouldhave thought that such a Man would have been brought to this Streight in the Confirming of his Opinion? considering that a little before, in the same Chapter,Sect. 15.he accuseth the School-men among thePapists, and I confess truly,The like thePapists.In that they neither understand nor explain to others how Christ is in the Eucharist, which shortly after he confesseth himself he cannot do. If then the School-men among thePapistsdo neither understand nor yet explain to others their Doctrine in this Matter, norCalvincan comprehend it in his Spirit, which I judge is as much as not to understand it, nor express it in Words, and then surely he cannot explain it to others, then no Certainty is to be had from either of them. There have been great Endeavours used for Reconcilement in this Matter, both betwixtPapistsandLutherans,LutheransandCalvinists, yea, andCalvinistsandPapists, but all to no Purpose; and many Forms and Manners of Expressions drawn up, to which all might yield; which in the End proved in vain, seeing every one understood them, and interpreted them in their own Way; and so they did thereby but equivocate and deceive one another. The Reason of all this Contention is, because they had not a clear Understanding of theMystery, and were doting aboutShadowsandExternals. For both the Ground and Matter of theirContestlies in Things extrinsick from, and unnecessary to, the main Matter.Satan busies People inoutward Signs,Shadows, andForms, whilst they neglect theSubstance.And this hath been often the Policy ofSatan, to busy People, and amuse them with outward Signs, Shadows, and Forms, making them contend about that, while in the mean Time theSubstanceis neglected; yea, and in contending for these Shadows he stirs them up to the Practice of Malice, Heat, Revenge, and other Vices, by which he establisheth his Kingdom of Darkness among them, and ruins the Life of Christianity. For there have been more Animosities and Heats about this one Particular, and more Bloodshed and Contention, than about any other.What hath been hurtful to theReformation.And surely they are little acquainted with the State ofProtestant Affairs, who know not that their Contentions about this have been more hurtful to theReformationthan all the Opposition they metwith from their common Adversaries.TwoErrorsthe Ground of the Contention about theSupper.Now all those uncertain and absurd Opinions, and the Contentions therefrom arising, have proceeded from their all agreeing in two general Errors concerning this Thing; which being denied and receded from, as they are by us, there would be an easy Way made forReconciliation, and we should all meet in one spiritual and true Understanding of thisMystery: And as the Contentions, so would also the Absurdities which follow from all the three fore-mentioned Opinions, cease and fall to the Ground.[129]Inst. Lib. 4. Cap. 17.TheFirstof theseErrorsis, In making the Communion or Participation of the Body, Flesh, and Blood of Christ to relate to that outward Body, Vessel, or Temple, that was born of the VirginMary, and walked and suffered inJudea; whereas it should relate to the Spiritual Body, Flesh, and Blood of Christ, even thatheavenlyandcelestial LightandLife, which was the Food and Nourishment of the Regenerate in all Ages, as we have already proved.TheSecond Erroris, In tying this Participation of the Body and Blood of Christ to that Ceremony used by him with his Disciples in the Breaking of Bread,&c.as if it had only a Relation thereto, or were only enjoyed in the Use of that Ceremony, which it neither hath nor is. For this is that Bread which Christ in his Prayer teaches to call for, terming it [Greek: ton arton ton epiousion: τον αρτον τον επιουσιον], i. e. theSuper-substantial Bread, as the Greek hath it, and which the Soul partakes of, without any Relation or necessary Respect to this Ceremony, as shall be hereafter proved more at Length.Thesetwo Errorsbeing thus laid aside, and the Contentions arising therefrom buried, all are agreed in the main Positions,viz.First,Believers Soulsdo really feed upon the Flesh and Blood ofChrist.That theBody, Flesh, and Blood of Christ is necessary for the nourishing of the Soul.Secondly, That theSouls of Believers do really and truly partake and feed upon the Body, Flesh, and Blood of Christ. But while Men are not content with the Spirituality of thisMystery, going in their own Wills, and according to their own Inventions, to strain and wrest the Scriptures to tie this spiritual Communion of the Fleshand Blood of Christ to outward Bread and Wine, and such like carnal Ordinances, no Wonder if by their carnal Apprehensions they run into Confusion. But because it hath been generally supposed that the Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ had some special Relation to the Ceremony ofbreaking Bread, I shall first refute that Opinion, and then proceed to consider the Nature and Use of thatCeremony, and whether it be nownecessaryto continue; answering the Reasons and Objections of such as plead its Continuance as a necessary and standing Ordinance of Jesus Christ.§. V.I.First, It must be understood that I speak of a necessary and peculiar Relation otherwise than in a general Respect: For inasmuch as our Communion with Christ is and ought to be our greatest and chiefest Work, we ought to do all other Things with a Respect to God, and our Fellowship with him;That the Communion of theBodyandBloodofChristhas no special Relation to the Ceremony ofbreaking Bread, neither by Nature nor Precept.but a special and necessary Respect or Relation is such as where the two Things are so tied and united together, eitherof their own Nature, orby the Command of God, that the one cannot be enjoyed, or at least is not, except very extraordinarily, without the other. ThusSalvationhath a necessary Respect toHoliness, becausewithout Holiness no Man shall see God; and theEating of the Flesh and Blood ofChrist hath a necessary Respect to our having Life, because if weeat not his Flesh, and drink not his Blood, we cannot haveLife; and ourfeeling of God’s Presencehath a necessary Respect to our being found meeting in his Name by divine Precept, because he has promised,Where two or three are met together in his Name, he will be in the Midst of them. In like Manner our receivingBenefitsandBlessings from Godhas a necessary Respect to ourPrayer, because ifwe ask, he hath promisedwe shall receive. Now the Communion or Participation of theFlesh and Blood of Christhath no such necessary Relation to thebreaking of Breadanddrinking of Wine; for if it had any such necessary Relation, it would either be from theNature of the Thing, or from somedivine Precept; but we shall shew it is from neither: Therefore,&c.First, It is not from theNature of it; because to partake of the Flesh and Blood of Christ is a spiritual Exercise, and all confess that it is by the Soul and Spirit that we become real Partakers of it, as it is the Soul, and not the Body, that is nourished by it. But to eat Bread and drink Wine is a natural Act, which in itself adds nothing to the Soul, neither has any Thing that is spiritual in it; because the most carnal Man that is can as fully, as perfectly, and as wholly eat Bread and drink Wine as the most spiritual.Secondly, Their Relation is notby Nature, else they would infer one another; but all acknowledge that many eat of the Bread and drink of the Wine, even that which they say isconsecrateandtransubstantiate into the very Body of Christ, who notwithstanding have not Life eternal, have not Christ dwelling in them, nor do live by him, as all do who truly partake of the Flesh and Blood of Christ without the Use of this Ceremony, as all thePatriarchsandProphetsdid before this Ordinance, as they account it, was instituted.The Patriarchs and Prophets, without this Ceremony’s Use, were true Partakers of Christ’s Flesh and Blood.Neither was there any Thing under the Law that had any direct or necessary Relation hereunto; though to partake of the Flesh and Blood of Christ in all Ages was indispensably necessary to Salvation.The PaschalLambits End.For as for thePaschal Lamb, the whole End of it is signified particularly,Exod.xiii. 8, 9. to wit,That theJewsmight thereby be kept in Remembrance of their Deliverance out ofEgypt.Secondly, It hath not Relation bydivine Precept; for if it had, it would be mentioned in that which our Adversaries account the Institution of it, or else in the Practice of it by the Saints recorded in Scripture; but so it is not. For as to theInstitution, or ratherNarration, of Christ’s Practice in this Matter, we have it recorded by the EvangelistsMatthew,Mark, andLuke.[130]In the first two there is only an Account of the Matter of Fact, to wit,ThatChristbrake Bread, and gave it to his Disciples to eat, saying, This is my Body; and blessing the Cup, he gave it them to drink, saying, This is my Blood; but nothing of any Desire to them to do it. In the last, after theBread(but before theBlessing, or giving them theWine) he bids themdo it in Remembrance of him.TheInstitutionof theSupper, or Narration ofChrist’s Practicetherein.What we are to think of this Practice of Christ shall be spoken of hereafter. But what necessary Relation hath all this to the Believers partaking of the Flesh and Blood of Christ? The End of this for which they were to do it, if at all, is torememberChrist; which the Apostle yet more particularly expresses, 1Cor.xi. 26.to shew forth the Lord’s Death; but toremember the Lord, ordeclare his Death, which are the special and particular Ends annexed to the Use of this Ceremony, is not at all to partake of the Flesh and Blood of Christ; neither have they any more necessary Relation to it than any other two different spiritual Duties. For though they that partake of theFlesh and Blood ofChrist cannot but remember him, yet the Lord and his Death may be remembered, as none can deny, where his Flesh and Blood is not truly partaken of. So that since the very particular and express End of this Ceremony may be witnessed, to wit, the Remembrance of the Lord’s Death, and yet the Flesh and Blood of Christ not partaken of, it cannot have had any necessary Relation to it, else the Partaking thereof would have been the End of it, and could not have been attained without this Participation. But on the contrary, we may well infer hence, that since the positive End of this Ceremony is not the Partaking of the Flesh and Blood of Christ, and that whoever partakes of the Flesh and Blood of Christ cannot but remember him, that therefore such need not this Ceremony to put them in Remembrance of him.[130]Matt. 26. 17. Mark 14. 22. Luke 22. 19.Object.But if it be said,ThatJesus Christcalls the Bread here hisBody, and the Wine hisBlood, therefore he seems to have had a special Relation to his Disciples partaking of his Flesh and Blood in the Use of this Thing;Answ.Ianswer, His calling the Bread hisBody, and the Wine hisBlood, would yet infer no such Thing; though it is not denied but that Jesus Christ, in all Things he did, yea, and from the Use of all natural Things, took Occasion to raise the Minds of his Disciples andHearers to Spirituals.The Woman ofSamaria, John 4. 14.Hence from the Woman ofSamariaher drawingWater, he took Occasion to tell her of thatliving Water, whichwhoso drinketh of shall never thirst; which indeed is all one with hisBloodhere spoken of;TheWell, theLoaves, theBreadandWine, Christ takes Occasion from, to shew theinward Feeling.yet it will not follow thatthat WellorWaterhad any necessary Relation to theliving Water, or theliving Waterto it,&c.So Christ takes Occasion, from theJewsfollowing him for theLoaves, to tell them of thisspiritual BreadandFleshof his Body, which was more necessary for them to feed upon; it will not therefore follow that their following him for theLoaveshad any necessary Relation thereunto. So also Christ here, being at Supper with his Disciples, takes Occasion, from theBreadandWinewhich was before them, to signify unto them, That as thatBreadwhich he brake unto them, and thatWinewhich he blessed and gave unto them, did contribute to the Preserving and Nourishing of their Bodies, so was he also to give hisBodyand shed hisBloodfor theSalvationof theirSouls. And therefore the very End proposed in this Ceremony to those that observe it is, to be aMemorial of his Death.But if it be said,That the Apostle,1 Cor. x. 16.calls the Bread which he brake the Communion of the Body of Christ, and the Cup the Communion of his Blood;I do most willingly subscribe unto it; but do deny that this is understood of the outward Bread, neither can it be evinced, but the contrary is manifest from the Context: For the Apostle in this Chapter speaks not one Word of that Ceremony; for having in the Beginning of it shewn them how theJewsof old were made Partakers of thespiritual FoodandWater, which was Christ, and how several of them, throughDisobedienceandIdolatry, fell from that good Condition, he exhorts them, by the Example of thoseJewswhom God destroyed of old, to flee those Evils; shewing them that they, to wit, theCorinthians, are likewise Partakers of theBody and Bloodof Christ; of which Communion they would rob themselves if they did Evil, becausethey could not drink of the Cup of the Lord andthe Cup of Devils, and partake of the Lord’s Table and the Table of Devils, Ver. 21. which shews that he understands not here the using of outward Bread and Wine; because those that do drink theCup of Devils, and eat of theTable of Devils, yea, the wickedest of Men, may partake of the outward Bread and outward Wine.The wickedest may take the outward Bread and Wine.For there the Apostle calls the Breadone, Ver. 17. and he saith,We being many, are one Bread, and one Body; for we are all Partakers of that one Bread. Now if the Bread beone, it cannot be theoutward, or theinwardwould be excluded; whereas it cannot be denied but that it is the Partaking of theinward Bread, and not theoutward, that makes the Saints trulyone Bodyandone Bread. And whereas they say, That theone Breadhere comprehendeth both theoutwardandinward, by Virtue of thesacramental Union;Thesacramental Unionpretended, aFigment.that indeed is to affirm, but not to prove. As for thatFigmentof asacramental Union, I find not such a Thing in all theScripture, especially in theNew Testament; nor is there any Thing can give a Rise for such a Thing in this Chapter, where the Apostle, as is above observed, is not at all treating of thatCeremony, but only, from the Excellency of that Privilege which theCorinthianshad, as believing Christians,to partake of the Flesh and Bloodof Christ, dehorts them fromIdolatry, and partaking of the Sacrifices offered toIdols, so as thereby to offend or hurt their weak Brethren.Object.But that which they most of allcry outfor in this Matter, and are alwaysurging, is from 1Cor.xi. where the Apostle is particularly treating of this Matter, and therefore, from some Words here, they have the greatest Appearance of Truth for their Assertion, as Ver. 27. where he calls theCuptheCup of the Lord; and saith,That they who eat of it and drink it unworthily, are guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord; and Ver. 29.Eat and drink their own Damnation; intimating hence, that this hath an immediate or necessary Relation to the Body, Flesh, and Blood of Christ.Answ.Though this at first View may catch the Unwary Reader, yet being well considered, it doth no Ways evince the Matter in Controversy. As for theCorinthiansbeing in the Use of this Ceremony, why they were so, and how that obliges not Christians now to the same, shall be spoken of hereafter: It suffices at this Time to consider that they were in the Use of it.Secondly, That in the Use of it they were guilty of and committed divers Abuses.Thirdly, That the Apostle here is giving them Directions how they may do it aright, in shewing them the right and proper Use and End of it.These Things being premised, let it be observed, That the very express and particular Use of it, according to the Apostle, isto shew forth the Lord’s Death, &c. Butto shew forth the Lord’s Death, and partake of the Flesh and Blood ofChrist, are different Things. He saith not,As often as ye eat this Bread, and drink this Cup, ye partake of the Body and Blood ofChrist; but,ye shew forth the Lord’s Death. So I acknowledge,That this Ceremony, by those that practise it, hath animmediate Relationto theoutward BodyandDeath ofChrist upon theCross, as being properly a Memorial of it; but it doth not thence follow that it hath anyinwardorimmediate Relation to Believers communicating or partaking of the spiritual Body and Blood ofChrist, or that spiritual Supperspoken ofRev.iii. 20. For though, in a general Way, as every religious Action in some Respect hath a common Relation to the spiritual Communion of the Saints with God, so we shall not deny but this hath a Relation as others. Now for his callingthe Cup the Cup of the Lord, and saying,They are guilty of the Body and Blood ofChrist, and eat their own[131]Damnation in not discerning the Lord’s Body, &c. Ianswer, That this infers no more necessary Relation than any other religious Act, and amounts to no more than this, That since theCorinthianswere in the Use of this Ceremony, and so performed it as a religious Act, they ought to do it worthily, or else they should bring Condemnation upon themselves. Now this will not more infer the Thing so practised by them to be a necessary-religious Act obligatory upon others, than when the Apostle saith,Rom.xiv. 6.He that regardeth the Day, regardeth it unto the Lord,it can be thence inferred that the Days that some esteemed and observed did lay an Obligation upon others to do the same. But yet, as he that esteemed a Day, and placed Conscience in keeping it, was toregard it to the Lord, and so it was to him, in so far as he dedicated it unto the Lord, theLord’s Day, he was to do it worthily; and if he did it unworthily, he would be guilty of theLord’s Day, and so keep it to his own Damnation; so also such as observe thisCeremony of Bread and Wine, it is to them theBread of the Lord, andthe Cup of the Lord, because they use it as a religious Act; and forasmuch as their End therein is toshew forth the Lord’s Death, andremember his Bodythat was crucified for them, and hisBloodthat was shed for them, if, notwithstanding, they believe it is their Duty to do it, and make it a Matter of Conscience to forbear, if they do it without that due Preparation and Examination which every religious Act ought to be performed in, then, instead of truly remembering the Lord’s Death, and his Body and his Blood, they render themselves guilty of it, as being in one Spirit with those that crucified him, and shed his Blood, though pretending with Thanksgiving and Joy to remember it.ThePhariseesguilty of the Blood of theProphets.Thus theScribesandPhariseesof old, though in Memory of the Prophets they garnished their Sepulchres, yet are said by Christ to beguilty of their Blood. And that no more can be hence inferred, appears from another Saying of the same Apostle,Rom.xiv. 23.He that doubteth is damned if he eat, &c. where he, speaking of those that judged it unlawful to eat Flesh,&c.saith,If they eat doubting, they eat their own Damnation. Now it is manifest from all this, that either the doing or forbearing of this was to another, that placed no Conscience in it, of no Moment. So I say, he that eateth that which in his Conscience he is persuaded it is not lawful for him to eat, doth eat his ownDamnation; so he also that placeth Conscience in eating Bread and Wineas a religious Act, if he do it unprepared, and without that due respect wherein such Acts should be gone about, heeateth and drinketh his own Damnation, not discerning the Lord’s Body, i. e. not minding what he doth, to wit,with a special Respect to the Lord, and by Way of special Commemoration of the Death of Christ.

Concerning theCommunion, orParticipationof theBodyandBloodofChrist.

[119]TheCommunionof the Body and Blood of Christ isinwardandspiritual, which is the Participation of his Flesh and Blood, by which theinward Manis daily nourished in the Hearts of those in whom Christ dwells. Of which Things theBreaking of Breadby Christ with his Disciples was aFigure, which even they who had received the Substance used in the Church for a Time, for the Sake of the Weak;[120]even asabstaining from Things strangled, andfrom Blood,the Washing one another’s Feet, and theAnointing of the Sick with Oil: All which are commanded with no less Authority and Solemnity than the former; yet seeing they are butShadowsof better Things, they cease in such as have obtained theSubstance.

[119]1 Cor. 10. 16, 17. John 6. 32. 33. 35. 1 Cor. 5. 8.

[120]Acts 15. 20. John 13. 14. James 5. 14.

§. I.TheCommunionof the Body and Blood of Christ is aMysteryhid from all natural Men, in their first fallen and degenerate State, which they cannot understand, reach to, nor comprehend, as they there abide; neither, as they there are, can they be Partakers of it, nor yet are they able todiscern the Lord’s Body. And forasmuch as theChristian World(so called) for the most Part hath been still labouring, working, conceiving and imagining, in their own natural and unrenewed Understandings, about the Things of God and Religion; therefore hath thisMysterybeen much hid and sealed up from them, while they have been contending, quarrelling and fighting one with another about the mere Shadow, Outside, and Form, but Strangers to the Substance, Life and Virtue.

§. II.TheBodyandBloodof Christ is spiritual.TheBodythen of Christ, which Believers partake of, isspiritual, and notcarnal; and hisBlood, which they drink of, ispureandheavenly, and nothumanorelementary, asAugustinealso affirmsof theBody of Christ, which is eaten, in hisTractat.Psal. xcviii.Except a Man eat my Flesh, he hath not in him Life eternal: And he saith,The Words which I speak unto you are Spirit and Life; understand spiritually what I have spoken. Ye shall not eat of this Body which ye see, and drink this Blood which they shall spill, who crucify me—I am the living Bread, who have descended from Heaven. He calls himself the Bread, who descended from Heaven, exhorting that we might believe in him, &c.

Object.If it be asked then,What thatBody, what thatFleshandBloodis?

Answ.Ianswer, It is thatHeavenly Seed, thatdivine, spiritual, celestial Substance, of which we spake before in thefifthandsixth Propositions.What theheavenly Seedis, whereby formerly, and also now,LifeandSalvationwas and is communicated.This is thatspiritual Body of Christ, whereby and through which he communicatethLife to Men, andSalvation to as many as believe in him, andreceive him; and whereby also Man comes to have Fellowship and Communion with God. This is proved from the 6th ofJohn, from Verse 32. to the End, where Christ speaks more at large of this Matter, than in any other Place: And indeed thisEvangelistandbeloved Disciple, who lay in the Bosom of our Lord, gives us a more full Account of thespiritual SayingsandDoctrineof Christ than any other; and it is observable, that though he speaks nothing of theCeremonyused by Christ ofbreaking Bread with his Disciples, neither in his evangelical Account of Christ’sLife and Sufferings, nor in his Epistles; yet he is more large in this Account of theParticipationof the Body, Flesh and Blood of Christ, than any of them all. For Christ, in this Chapter, perceiving that theJewsdid follow him for Love of theLoaves, desires them (Verse 27) tolabour not for the Meat which perisheth, but for that Meat which endureth for ever: But forasmuch as they, being carnal in their Apprehensions, and not understanding the spiritual Language and Doctrine of Christ, did judge theManna, whichMosesgave their Fathers, to be the most excellent Bread, as coming from Heaven; Christ, to rectify that Mistake, and better inform them, affirmeth,First, Thatit is not Moses, but hisFather, that giveth the trueBreadfrom Heaven, Ver. 32. and 48.Secondly, This Breadhe callshimself, Ver. 35. Iam theBreadof Life: And Ver. 51. Iam theliving Bread,which came down from Heaven.Thirdly, He declares that this Bread is his Flesh, Ver. 51. The Breadthat I will give, is my Flesh; and Ver. 55.For my Flesh is Meat indeed, and my Blood is Drink indeed.Fourthly, The Necessity of partaking thereof. Ver. 53.Except ye eat the Flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his Blood, ye have no Life in you.AndLastly, The blessed Fruits and necessary Effects of this Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ. Ver. 33.ThisBreadgiveth Life to the World.Ver. 50.He that eateth thereof, dieth not.Ver. 58.He that eateth of thisBread, shall live for ever.Ver. 54.Whoso eateth this Flesh, and drinketh this Blood, shall live for ever.Ver. 56.And he dwelleth in Christ, and Christ in him.Ver. 57.And shall live by Christ.The Origin, Nature and Effects of the Body, Flesh and Blood of Christ.From this large Description of the Origin, Nature, and Effects of thisBody,FleshandBlood ofChrist, it is apparent that it is spiritual, and to be understood of a spiritual Body, and not of that Body, or Temple of Jesus Christ, which was born of the VirginMary, and in which he walked, lived, and suffered in the Land ofJudea; because it is said, that itcame down from Heaven, yea, that it is he thatcame down from Heaven. Now all Christians at present generally acknowledge, that the outward Body of Christ came not down from Heaven; neither was it that Part of Christ which came down from Heaven. And to put the Matter out of Doubt, when the carnalJewswould have been so understanding it, he tells them plainly, Ver. 63.It is the Spirit that quickeneth, but the Flesh profiteth Nothing.Solid Reasons that it is his spiritual Body Christ speaks of.This is also founded upon most sound and solid Reason; because it is the Soul, not the Body, that is to be nourished by this Flesh and Blood. Now outward Flesh cannot nourish nor feed the Soul; there is no Proportion nor Analogy betwixt them; neither is the Communion of the Saints with God by a Conjunction and mutual Participation of Flesh, but of the Spirit:[121]He that is joined to the Lord is one Spirit,notone Flesh. For the Flesh (I mean outward Flesh, even such as was that wherein Christ lived and walked when upon Earth; and not Flesh, when transformed byaMetaphor, to be understood spiritually) can only partake of Flesh, as Spirit of Spirit: As the Body cannot feed upon Spirit, neither can the Spirit feed upon Flesh. And that the Flesh here spoken of is spiritually to be understood, appears further, inasmuch as that which feedeth upon it shall never die: But the Bodies of all Men once die; yea, it was necessary that the Body of Christ himself should die. That this Body, and spiritual Flesh and Blood of Christ, is to be understood of thatdivineandheavenly Seed, before spoken of by us, appears both by the Nature and Fruits of it.First, it is said,It is that which cometh down from Heaven, and giveth Life unto the World: Now this answers to thatLightandSeed, which is testified of,Johni. to be theLight of the World, and the Life of Men.This spiritual Light and Seed is as Bread to the hungry Soul.For thatspiritual LightandSeed, as it receives Place in Men’s Hearts, and Room to spring up there, is as Bread to the hungry and fainting Soul, that is (as it were) buried and dead in the Lusts of the World; which receives Life again, and revives, as it tasteth and partaketh of this heavenly Bread: And they that partake of it are said to come to Christ; neither can any have it, but by coming to him, and believing in the Appearance of hisLightin their Hearts; by receiving which, and believing in it, the Participation of this Body and Bread is known. And that Christ understands the same Thing here by his Body, Flesh and Blood, which is understood,Johni. by theLight enlightening every Man, and theLife, &c. appears; for theLightandLife, spoken ofJohni. is said to beChrist;He is the true Light: And theBreadandFlesh, &c. spoken of inJohnvi. is calledChrist; Iam theBreadof Life, saith he. Again,They that received that Light and Life, John i. 12.obtained Power to become the Sons of God, by believing in his Name: So also here,Johnvi. 35.He that cometh unto thisBreadof Life shall not hunger; and he that believes in him, who is thisBread, shall never thirst.Christ’s outward and spiritual Body distinguished.So then, as there was the outward visible Body and Temple of Jesus Christ, which took its Origin from the VirginMary; there is also the spiritual Body of Christ, by and through which He that was theWord in the Beginningwith God, and was and is GOD, did reveal himself to the Sons of Men in all Ages, and whereby Men in all Ages come to be made Partakers ofeternal Life, and to have Communion and Fellowship with God and Christ.The Patriarchs did eat of the Body of Christ.Of which Body of Christ, and Flesh and Blood, if bothAdam, andSeth, andEnoch, andNoah, andAbraham, andMoses, andDavid, and all the Prophets and holy Men of God, had not eaten, they had not had Life in them; nor could their inward Man have been nourished. Now as the outward Body and Temple was called Christ, so was also his spiritual Body, no less properly, and that long before that outward Body was in Being. Hence the Apostle saith, 1Cor.x. 3, 4. That theFathers did all eat the same spiritual Meat, and did all drink the same spiritual Drink: [For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.] This cannot be understood otherwise than of this spiritual Body of Christ; which spiritual Body of Christ, though it was the saving Food of the Righteous both before theLawand under theLaw; yet under theLawit was veiled and shadowed, and covered under divers Types, Ceremonies and Observations; yea, and not only so, but it was veiled and hid, in some Respect, under the outward Temple and Body of Christ, or during the Continuance of it; so that theJewscould not understand Christ’s Preaching about it while on Earth:[122]And not theJewsonly, but many of his Disciples, judging it anhard Saying, murmured at it;and many from that Time went back from him, and walked no more with him. I doubt not but that there are many also at this Day, professing to be the Disciples of Christ, that do as little understand this Matter as those did, and are as apt to be offended, and stumble at it, while they are gazing and following after the outward Body; and look not to that by which the Saints are daily fed and nourished.The divine Light of Christ doth make the Saints Partakers of his Body.For as Jesus Christ, in Obedience to the Will of the Father, did by theeternal Spirit offer up thatBodyfor a Propitiationfor theRemission of Sins, and finished his Testimony upon Earth thereby, in a most perfect Example of Patience, Resignation and Holiness, that all might be made Partakers of the Fruit of that Sacrifice; sohath he likewise poured forthinto the Hearts of all Mena Measure of thatdivine LightandSeedwherewith he is clothed; that thereby, reaching unto the Consciences of all, he may raise them up out ofDeathandDarknessby hisLifeandLight, andthereby they maybe made Partakers of his Body, and therethrough come to have Fellowship with the Father and with the Son.

[121]1 Cor. 6. 17.

[122]John 6. 60. 66.

§. III.Quest.If it be asked,How and after what Manner Man comes to partake of it, and to be fed by it?

Answ.Ianswerin the plain and express Words of Christ, Iam theBreadof Life, saith he;[123]he that cometh to me shall never hunger; he that believeth in me shall never thirst. And again,For my Flesh is Meat indeed, and my Blood is Drink indeed. So whosoever thou art that askest this Question, or readest these Lines, whether thou accountest thyself a Believer, or really feelest, by a certain and sad Experience, that thou art yet in the Unbelief, and findest that the outward Body and Flesh of Christ is so far from thee, that thou canst not reach it, nor feed upon it; yea, though thou hast often swallowed down and taken in that which thePapistshave persuaded thee to be the real Flesh and Blood of Christ, and hast believed it to be so, though all thy Senses told thee the Contrary;TheLutheransandCalvinistsOpinions of the Flesh and Blood of Christ in theSupperso called.or (being aLutheran) hast taken that Bread, in and with and under which theLutheranshave assured thee that the Flesh and Blood of Christ is; or (being aCalvinist) hast partaken of that which theCalvinistssay (though a Figure only of the Body) gives them who take it a real Participation of the Body, Flesh, and Blood of Christ, though they never knew how nor what Way; I say, if for all this thou findest thy Soul yet barren, yea, hungry, and ready to starve, for want of something thou longest for;knowthat thatLightwhich discovers thy Iniquity to thee, which shews thee thy Barrenness, thy Nakedness, thy Emptiness, is thatBodywhich thou must partake of, and feed upon: But that till by forsaking Iniquity thou turnest to it, comest unto it, receivest it, though thou mayest hunger after it, thou canst not besatisfied with it;[124]for it hath noCommunion with Darkness, nor canst thou drink of the Cup of the Lord, and the Cup of Devils: And be Partaker of the Lord’s Table, and the Table of Devils, 1 Cor. x. 21.How the inward Man is nourished.But as thou sufferest that smallSeed of Righteousnessto arise in thee, and to be formed into a Birth, that new substantial Birth, which is brought forth in the Soul, supernaturally feeds upon and is nourished by this spiritual Body; yea, as this outward Birth lives not but as it draws in Breath by the outward elementary Air, so this new Birth lives not in the Soul, but as it draws in and breathes by that spiritual Air or Vehicle. And as the outward Birth cannot subsist without some outward Body to feed upon, some outward Flesh, and some outward Drink, so neither can this inward Birth, unless it be fed by this inward Flesh and Blood of Christ, which answers to it after the same Manner, by Way of Analogy. And this is most agreeable to the Doctrine of Christ concerning this Matter. For as without outward Food the natural Body hath not Life, so also saith Christ,[125]Except ye eat the Flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his Blood, ye have no Life in you. And as the outward Body, eating outward Food, lives thereby, so Christ saith,[126]Thathe that eateth him shall live by him. So it is this inward Participation of thisinward Man, of thisinwardandspiritual Body, by which Man is united to God, and has Fellowship and Communion with him.[127]He that eateth my Flesh, and drinketh my Blood, saith Christ,dwelleth in me, and I in him. This cannot be understood of outward eating of outward Bread; and as by this the Soul must have Fellowship with God, so also, so far as all the Saints are Partakers of thisone Bodyandone Blood, they come also to have ajoint Communion. Hence the Apostle, 1Cor.x. 17. in this Respect saith, That they[128]being many, are oneBread,and oneBody; and to the Wise among theCorinthianshe saith,The true spiritual Supper of the Lord.TheBreadwhich we break is the Communion of the Body of Christ. This is thetrueandspiritual Supperof the Lord, which Men come to partake of, by hearing the Voice of Christ, and opening the Door of their Hearts, and so letting him in in the Manner abovesaid, according to the plain Words of theScripture,Rev.iii. 20.Behold I stand at the Door and knock; if any Man hear my Voice, and open the Door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. So that theSupper of the Lord, and thesuppingwith the Lord, and partaking of his Flesh and Blood, is no Ways limited to the Ceremony ofbreaking Breadanddrinking Wineat particular Times, but is truly and really enjoyed, as often as the Soul retires into the Light of the Lord, and feels and partakes of that heavenly Life by which the inward Man is nourished; which may be and is often witnessed by the Faithful at all Times, though more particularly when they are assembled together to wait upon the Lord.

[123]John 6. 35.and55.

[124]1 Cor. 6. 14.

[125]John 6. 53.

[126]John 6. 57.

[127]John 6. 56.

[128]1 Cor. 10. Verse 16.

§. IV.But what Confusion the Professors of Christianity have run into concerning this Matter, is more than obvious; who, as in most other Things they have done, for want of a true spiritual Understanding, have sought to tie thisSupperof the Lord to that Ceremony used by Christ before his Death, ofbreaking Breadanddrinking Winewith his Disciples.Man is not tied to the Ceremony ofbreaking Breadanddrinking Winewhich Christ did use with his Disciples, this only was a Shadow.And though they for the most Part agree generally in this, yet how do they contend and debate one against another! How strangely are they pinched, pained, and straitened to make the spiritual Mystery agree to that Ceremony! And what monstrous and wild Opinions and Conceptions have they invented, to inclose or affix the Body of Christ to theirBreadandWine? From which Opinion not only the greatest, and fiercest, and most hurtful Contests, both among the Professors of Christianity in general, and amongProtestantsin particular, have arisen;What makes the Christian Religion hateful to theJews,Turks, andHeathens.but also such Absurdities, irrational and blasphemous Consequences have ensued, as make the Christian Religion odious and hateful toJews,Turks, andHeathens. The Professors of Christianity do chiefly divide in this Matter into three Opinions.

ThePapistsFaith of Christ’s Flesh.TheFirstis of those that say,The Substance of the Bread is transubstantiated into the very Substance of that same Body, Flesh, and Blood ofChrist,which was born of the VirginMary,and crucified by theJews; sothat after theWords of Consecration, as they call them,it is no more Bread, but the Body ofChrist.

TheLutheransFaith.TheSecondis of such who say,The Substance of the Bread remains, but that also that Body is in, and with, and under the Bread; so thatboth the Substance of Bread, and of the Body, Flesh, and Blood ofChrist, is there also.

TheCalvinistsFaith.TheThirdis of those, that, denying both these, do affirm,That the Body ofChristis not there corporally or substantially, but yet that it is really and sacramentally received by the Faithful in the Use of Bread and Wine; but how or what Way it is there,they know not, nor can they tell; only we must believe it is there, yet so that it is only properly in Heaven.

It is not my Design to enter into a Refutation of these several Opinions; for each of their Authors and Assertors have sufficiently refuted one another, and are all of them no less strong both from Scripture and Reason in refuting each their contrary Parties Opinion, than they are weak in establishing their own. For I often have seriously observed, in reading their respective Writings, and so it may be have others, that all of them do notably, in so far as they refute the contrary Opinions; but that they are mightily pained, when they come to confirm and plead for their own. Hence I necessarily must conclude, that none of them had attained to the Truth and Substance of thisMystery. Let us see ifCalvin,[129]after he had refuted the two former Opinions, be more successful in what he affirms and asserts for the Truth of his Opinion, who, after he hath much laboured in overturning and refuting the two former Opinions, plainly confesseth, that he knows not what to affirm instead of them.J. Calvin’s faith of Christ’s Flesh and Blood uncertain.For after he has spoken much, and at last concluded,That the Body of Christ is there, and that the Saints must needs partake thereof, at last he lands in these Words,Sect. 32. “But if it be asked me how it is? I shall not be ashamed to confess, that it is a Secret too high for me to comprehend in my Spirit, or explain in Words.” Here he deals very ingenuously; and yet who wouldhave thought that such a Man would have been brought to this Streight in the Confirming of his Opinion? considering that a little before, in the same Chapter,Sect. 15.he accuseth the School-men among thePapists, and I confess truly,The like thePapists.In that they neither understand nor explain to others how Christ is in the Eucharist, which shortly after he confesseth himself he cannot do. If then the School-men among thePapistsdo neither understand nor yet explain to others their Doctrine in this Matter, norCalvincan comprehend it in his Spirit, which I judge is as much as not to understand it, nor express it in Words, and then surely he cannot explain it to others, then no Certainty is to be had from either of them. There have been great Endeavours used for Reconcilement in this Matter, both betwixtPapistsandLutherans,LutheransandCalvinists, yea, andCalvinistsandPapists, but all to no Purpose; and many Forms and Manners of Expressions drawn up, to which all might yield; which in the End proved in vain, seeing every one understood them, and interpreted them in their own Way; and so they did thereby but equivocate and deceive one another. The Reason of all this Contention is, because they had not a clear Understanding of theMystery, and were doting aboutShadowsandExternals. For both the Ground and Matter of theirContestlies in Things extrinsick from, and unnecessary to, the main Matter.Satan busies People inoutward Signs,Shadows, andForms, whilst they neglect theSubstance.And this hath been often the Policy ofSatan, to busy People, and amuse them with outward Signs, Shadows, and Forms, making them contend about that, while in the mean Time theSubstanceis neglected; yea, and in contending for these Shadows he stirs them up to the Practice of Malice, Heat, Revenge, and other Vices, by which he establisheth his Kingdom of Darkness among them, and ruins the Life of Christianity. For there have been more Animosities and Heats about this one Particular, and more Bloodshed and Contention, than about any other.What hath been hurtful to theReformation.And surely they are little acquainted with the State ofProtestant Affairs, who know not that their Contentions about this have been more hurtful to theReformationthan all the Opposition they metwith from their common Adversaries.TwoErrorsthe Ground of the Contention about theSupper.Now all those uncertain and absurd Opinions, and the Contentions therefrom arising, have proceeded from their all agreeing in two general Errors concerning this Thing; which being denied and receded from, as they are by us, there would be an easy Way made forReconciliation, and we should all meet in one spiritual and true Understanding of thisMystery: And as the Contentions, so would also the Absurdities which follow from all the three fore-mentioned Opinions, cease and fall to the Ground.

[129]Inst. Lib. 4. Cap. 17.

TheFirstof theseErrorsis, In making the Communion or Participation of the Body, Flesh, and Blood of Christ to relate to that outward Body, Vessel, or Temple, that was born of the VirginMary, and walked and suffered inJudea; whereas it should relate to the Spiritual Body, Flesh, and Blood of Christ, even thatheavenlyandcelestial LightandLife, which was the Food and Nourishment of the Regenerate in all Ages, as we have already proved.

TheSecond Erroris, In tying this Participation of the Body and Blood of Christ to that Ceremony used by him with his Disciples in the Breaking of Bread,&c.as if it had only a Relation thereto, or were only enjoyed in the Use of that Ceremony, which it neither hath nor is. For this is that Bread which Christ in his Prayer teaches to call for, terming it [Greek: ton arton ton epiousion: τον αρτον τον επιουσιον], i. e. theSuper-substantial Bread, as the Greek hath it, and which the Soul partakes of, without any Relation or necessary Respect to this Ceremony, as shall be hereafter proved more at Length.

Thesetwo Errorsbeing thus laid aside, and the Contentions arising therefrom buried, all are agreed in the main Positions,viz.First,Believers Soulsdo really feed upon the Flesh and Blood ofChrist.That theBody, Flesh, and Blood of Christ is necessary for the nourishing of the Soul.Secondly, That theSouls of Believers do really and truly partake and feed upon the Body, Flesh, and Blood of Christ. But while Men are not content with the Spirituality of thisMystery, going in their own Wills, and according to their own Inventions, to strain and wrest the Scriptures to tie this spiritual Communion of the Fleshand Blood of Christ to outward Bread and Wine, and such like carnal Ordinances, no Wonder if by their carnal Apprehensions they run into Confusion. But because it hath been generally supposed that the Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ had some special Relation to the Ceremony ofbreaking Bread, I shall first refute that Opinion, and then proceed to consider the Nature and Use of thatCeremony, and whether it be nownecessaryto continue; answering the Reasons and Objections of such as plead its Continuance as a necessary and standing Ordinance of Jesus Christ.

§. V.I.First, It must be understood that I speak of a necessary and peculiar Relation otherwise than in a general Respect: For inasmuch as our Communion with Christ is and ought to be our greatest and chiefest Work, we ought to do all other Things with a Respect to God, and our Fellowship with him;That the Communion of theBodyandBloodofChristhas no special Relation to the Ceremony ofbreaking Bread, neither by Nature nor Precept.but a special and necessary Respect or Relation is such as where the two Things are so tied and united together, eitherof their own Nature, orby the Command of God, that the one cannot be enjoyed, or at least is not, except very extraordinarily, without the other. ThusSalvationhath a necessary Respect toHoliness, becausewithout Holiness no Man shall see God; and theEating of the Flesh and Blood ofChrist hath a necessary Respect to our having Life, because if weeat not his Flesh, and drink not his Blood, we cannot haveLife; and ourfeeling of God’s Presencehath a necessary Respect to our being found meeting in his Name by divine Precept, because he has promised,Where two or three are met together in his Name, he will be in the Midst of them. In like Manner our receivingBenefitsandBlessings from Godhas a necessary Respect to ourPrayer, because ifwe ask, he hath promisedwe shall receive. Now the Communion or Participation of theFlesh and Blood of Christhath no such necessary Relation to thebreaking of Breadanddrinking of Wine; for if it had any such necessary Relation, it would either be from theNature of the Thing, or from somedivine Precept; but we shall shew it is from neither: Therefore,&c.

First, It is not from theNature of it; because to partake of the Flesh and Blood of Christ is a spiritual Exercise, and all confess that it is by the Soul and Spirit that we become real Partakers of it, as it is the Soul, and not the Body, that is nourished by it. But to eat Bread and drink Wine is a natural Act, which in itself adds nothing to the Soul, neither has any Thing that is spiritual in it; because the most carnal Man that is can as fully, as perfectly, and as wholly eat Bread and drink Wine as the most spiritual.Secondly, Their Relation is notby Nature, else they would infer one another; but all acknowledge that many eat of the Bread and drink of the Wine, even that which they say isconsecrateandtransubstantiate into the very Body of Christ, who notwithstanding have not Life eternal, have not Christ dwelling in them, nor do live by him, as all do who truly partake of the Flesh and Blood of Christ without the Use of this Ceremony, as all thePatriarchsandProphetsdid before this Ordinance, as they account it, was instituted.The Patriarchs and Prophets, without this Ceremony’s Use, were true Partakers of Christ’s Flesh and Blood.Neither was there any Thing under the Law that had any direct or necessary Relation hereunto; though to partake of the Flesh and Blood of Christ in all Ages was indispensably necessary to Salvation.The PaschalLambits End.For as for thePaschal Lamb, the whole End of it is signified particularly,Exod.xiii. 8, 9. to wit,That theJewsmight thereby be kept in Remembrance of their Deliverance out ofEgypt.

Secondly, It hath not Relation bydivine Precept; for if it had, it would be mentioned in that which our Adversaries account the Institution of it, or else in the Practice of it by the Saints recorded in Scripture; but so it is not. For as to theInstitution, or ratherNarration, of Christ’s Practice in this Matter, we have it recorded by the EvangelistsMatthew,Mark, andLuke.[130]In the first two there is only an Account of the Matter of Fact, to wit,ThatChristbrake Bread, and gave it to his Disciples to eat, saying, This is my Body; and blessing the Cup, he gave it them to drink, saying, This is my Blood; but nothing of any Desire to them to do it. In the last, after theBread(but before theBlessing, or giving them theWine) he bids themdo it in Remembrance of him.TheInstitutionof theSupper, or Narration ofChrist’s Practicetherein.What we are to think of this Practice of Christ shall be spoken of hereafter. But what necessary Relation hath all this to the Believers partaking of the Flesh and Blood of Christ? The End of this for which they were to do it, if at all, is torememberChrist; which the Apostle yet more particularly expresses, 1Cor.xi. 26.to shew forth the Lord’s Death; but toremember the Lord, ordeclare his Death, which are the special and particular Ends annexed to the Use of this Ceremony, is not at all to partake of the Flesh and Blood of Christ; neither have they any more necessary Relation to it than any other two different spiritual Duties. For though they that partake of theFlesh and Blood ofChrist cannot but remember him, yet the Lord and his Death may be remembered, as none can deny, where his Flesh and Blood is not truly partaken of. So that since the very particular and express End of this Ceremony may be witnessed, to wit, the Remembrance of the Lord’s Death, and yet the Flesh and Blood of Christ not partaken of, it cannot have had any necessary Relation to it, else the Partaking thereof would have been the End of it, and could not have been attained without this Participation. But on the contrary, we may well infer hence, that since the positive End of this Ceremony is not the Partaking of the Flesh and Blood of Christ, and that whoever partakes of the Flesh and Blood of Christ cannot but remember him, that therefore such need not this Ceremony to put them in Remembrance of him.

[130]Matt. 26. 17. Mark 14. 22. Luke 22. 19.

Object.But if it be said,ThatJesus Christcalls the Bread here hisBody, and the Wine hisBlood, therefore he seems to have had a special Relation to his Disciples partaking of his Flesh and Blood in the Use of this Thing;

Answ.Ianswer, His calling the Bread hisBody, and the Wine hisBlood, would yet infer no such Thing; though it is not denied but that Jesus Christ, in all Things he did, yea, and from the Use of all natural Things, took Occasion to raise the Minds of his Disciples andHearers to Spirituals.The Woman ofSamaria, John 4. 14.Hence from the Woman ofSamariaher drawingWater, he took Occasion to tell her of thatliving Water, whichwhoso drinketh of shall never thirst; which indeed is all one with hisBloodhere spoken of;TheWell, theLoaves, theBreadandWine, Christ takes Occasion from, to shew theinward Feeling.yet it will not follow thatthat WellorWaterhad any necessary Relation to theliving Water, or theliving Waterto it,&c.So Christ takes Occasion, from theJewsfollowing him for theLoaves, to tell them of thisspiritual BreadandFleshof his Body, which was more necessary for them to feed upon; it will not therefore follow that their following him for theLoaveshad any necessary Relation thereunto. So also Christ here, being at Supper with his Disciples, takes Occasion, from theBreadandWinewhich was before them, to signify unto them, That as thatBreadwhich he brake unto them, and thatWinewhich he blessed and gave unto them, did contribute to the Preserving and Nourishing of their Bodies, so was he also to give hisBodyand shed hisBloodfor theSalvationof theirSouls. And therefore the very End proposed in this Ceremony to those that observe it is, to be aMemorial of his Death.

But if it be said,That the Apostle,1 Cor. x. 16.calls the Bread which he brake the Communion of the Body of Christ, and the Cup the Communion of his Blood;

I do most willingly subscribe unto it; but do deny that this is understood of the outward Bread, neither can it be evinced, but the contrary is manifest from the Context: For the Apostle in this Chapter speaks not one Word of that Ceremony; for having in the Beginning of it shewn them how theJewsof old were made Partakers of thespiritual FoodandWater, which was Christ, and how several of them, throughDisobedienceandIdolatry, fell from that good Condition, he exhorts them, by the Example of thoseJewswhom God destroyed of old, to flee those Evils; shewing them that they, to wit, theCorinthians, are likewise Partakers of theBody and Bloodof Christ; of which Communion they would rob themselves if they did Evil, becausethey could not drink of the Cup of the Lord andthe Cup of Devils, and partake of the Lord’s Table and the Table of Devils, Ver. 21. which shews that he understands not here the using of outward Bread and Wine; because those that do drink theCup of Devils, and eat of theTable of Devils, yea, the wickedest of Men, may partake of the outward Bread and outward Wine.The wickedest may take the outward Bread and Wine.For there the Apostle calls the Breadone, Ver. 17. and he saith,We being many, are one Bread, and one Body; for we are all Partakers of that one Bread. Now if the Bread beone, it cannot be theoutward, or theinwardwould be excluded; whereas it cannot be denied but that it is the Partaking of theinward Bread, and not theoutward, that makes the Saints trulyone Bodyandone Bread. And whereas they say, That theone Breadhere comprehendeth both theoutwardandinward, by Virtue of thesacramental Union;Thesacramental Unionpretended, aFigment.that indeed is to affirm, but not to prove. As for thatFigmentof asacramental Union, I find not such a Thing in all theScripture, especially in theNew Testament; nor is there any Thing can give a Rise for such a Thing in this Chapter, where the Apostle, as is above observed, is not at all treating of thatCeremony, but only, from the Excellency of that Privilege which theCorinthianshad, as believing Christians,to partake of the Flesh and Bloodof Christ, dehorts them fromIdolatry, and partaking of the Sacrifices offered toIdols, so as thereby to offend or hurt their weak Brethren.

Object.But that which they most of allcry outfor in this Matter, and are alwaysurging, is from 1Cor.xi. where the Apostle is particularly treating of this Matter, and therefore, from some Words here, they have the greatest Appearance of Truth for their Assertion, as Ver. 27. where he calls theCuptheCup of the Lord; and saith,That they who eat of it and drink it unworthily, are guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord; and Ver. 29.Eat and drink their own Damnation; intimating hence, that this hath an immediate or necessary Relation to the Body, Flesh, and Blood of Christ.

Answ.Though this at first View may catch the Unwary Reader, yet being well considered, it doth no Ways evince the Matter in Controversy. As for theCorinthiansbeing in the Use of this Ceremony, why they were so, and how that obliges not Christians now to the same, shall be spoken of hereafter: It suffices at this Time to consider that they were in the Use of it.Secondly, That in the Use of it they were guilty of and committed divers Abuses.Thirdly, That the Apostle here is giving them Directions how they may do it aright, in shewing them the right and proper Use and End of it.

These Things being premised, let it be observed, That the very express and particular Use of it, according to the Apostle, isto shew forth the Lord’s Death, &c. Butto shew forth the Lord’s Death, and partake of the Flesh and Blood ofChrist, are different Things. He saith not,As often as ye eat this Bread, and drink this Cup, ye partake of the Body and Blood ofChrist; but,ye shew forth the Lord’s Death. So I acknowledge,That this Ceremony, by those that practise it, hath animmediate Relationto theoutward BodyandDeath ofChrist upon theCross, as being properly a Memorial of it; but it doth not thence follow that it hath anyinwardorimmediate Relation to Believers communicating or partaking of the spiritual Body and Blood ofChrist, or that spiritual Supperspoken ofRev.iii. 20. For though, in a general Way, as every religious Action in some Respect hath a common Relation to the spiritual Communion of the Saints with God, so we shall not deny but this hath a Relation as others. Now for his callingthe Cup the Cup of the Lord, and saying,They are guilty of the Body and Blood ofChrist, and eat their own[131]Damnation in not discerning the Lord’s Body, &c. Ianswer, That this infers no more necessary Relation than any other religious Act, and amounts to no more than this, That since theCorinthianswere in the Use of this Ceremony, and so performed it as a religious Act, they ought to do it worthily, or else they should bring Condemnation upon themselves. Now this will not more infer the Thing so practised by them to be a necessary-religious Act obligatory upon others, than when the Apostle saith,Rom.xiv. 6.He that regardeth the Day, regardeth it unto the Lord,it can be thence inferred that the Days that some esteemed and observed did lay an Obligation upon others to do the same. But yet, as he that esteemed a Day, and placed Conscience in keeping it, was toregard it to the Lord, and so it was to him, in so far as he dedicated it unto the Lord, theLord’s Day, he was to do it worthily; and if he did it unworthily, he would be guilty of theLord’s Day, and so keep it to his own Damnation; so also such as observe thisCeremony of Bread and Wine, it is to them theBread of the Lord, andthe Cup of the Lord, because they use it as a religious Act; and forasmuch as their End therein is toshew forth the Lord’s Death, andremember his Bodythat was crucified for them, and hisBloodthat was shed for them, if, notwithstanding, they believe it is their Duty to do it, and make it a Matter of Conscience to forbear, if they do it without that due Preparation and Examination which every religious Act ought to be performed in, then, instead of truly remembering the Lord’s Death, and his Body and his Blood, they render themselves guilty of it, as being in one Spirit with those that crucified him, and shed his Blood, though pretending with Thanksgiving and Joy to remember it.ThePhariseesguilty of the Blood of theProphets.Thus theScribesandPhariseesof old, though in Memory of the Prophets they garnished their Sepulchres, yet are said by Christ to beguilty of their Blood. And that no more can be hence inferred, appears from another Saying of the same Apostle,Rom.xiv. 23.He that doubteth is damned if he eat, &c. where he, speaking of those that judged it unlawful to eat Flesh,&c.saith,If they eat doubting, they eat their own Damnation. Now it is manifest from all this, that either the doing or forbearing of this was to another, that placed no Conscience in it, of no Moment. So I say, he that eateth that which in his Conscience he is persuaded it is not lawful for him to eat, doth eat his ownDamnation; so he also that placeth Conscience in eating Bread and Wineas a religious Act, if he do it unprepared, and without that due respect wherein such Acts should be gone about, heeateth and drinketh his own Damnation, not discerning the Lord’s Body, i. e. not minding what he doth, to wit,with a special Respect to the Lord, and by Way of special Commemoration of the Death of Christ.

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