The Online Library of Liberty

A project of Liberty Fund, Inc.

• Introduction
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• The Divine Feudal Law Represented
• §1.
• §2.
• §3
• §4
• §5
• §6
• §7
• §8
• §9
• §10
• §11
• §12
• §13
• §14.
• §15
• §16
• §17
• §18
• §19
• §20
• §21
• §22
• §23
• §24.
• §25
• §26
• §27
• §28
• §29
• §30
• §31
• §32
• §33
• §34
• §35
• §36
• §37
• §38
• §39.
• §40
• §41
• §42
• §43
• §44
• §45
• §46
• §47
• §48
• §49
• §50
• §51
• §52
• §53
• §54
• §55
• §56
• §57
• §58
• §59
• §60
• §61
• §62
• §63
• §64
• §65
• §66
• §67
• §68
• §69
• §70
• §71
• §72
• §73
• §74
• §75
• §76
• §77
• §78
• §79
• §80
• §81
• §82
• §83
• §84
• §85
• §86
• §87
• §88
• §89
• §90
• §91
• §92
• §93
• §94

§58

Concerning the Invisible Matter of this Sacrament.But there is very sharp Debate among Christians concerning the Invisible Matter of this Sacrament, because the words are very plain, This is my Body; This is my Blood; and yet there is nothing that appears to the Senses but Bread and Wine. To us it seems most natural and easie to proceed thus in this Matter: Since the Sacrifice by which the Covenant of God in Christ was confirm’d, being once slain on the Cross, is not to be repeated, Heb. 7:27. 9:12, 25, 28. it is not necessary nor agreeable, that the Body and Blood of Christ be present in this Sacrament, with the same Qualities which they were endow’d with when he offer’d himself to God on the Cross, nor that it should here have the same Effect as it had there. Yet, because St. Paul teaches us, 1 Cor. 10:6. That the Bread which we break is the Communion of the Body of Christ, and the Wine which we drink is the Communion of the Blood of Christ, we must say, that Communion or Communication does not signifie a naked Sign or Symbol, and therefore that not only Bread and Wine are present, but also, and conjointly, the Body and Blood of Christ: Where it is not to be overlook’d as inconsiderable, that upon the account of this Conjunction, the Attributes of the Body of Christ and the Bread, and of the Blood of Christ and the Wine, are reciprocally predicated of Both. So 1 Cor. 11:24. it is said, the Body which was broken for you, when properly the breaking belongs to the Bread. Luke 22:20. It is said, the Cup which was shed for you, when properly the shedding, or being pour’d out, belongs to the Blood of Christ. For if the word shed, there, should be referr’d to the Blood, it should have been said, In my Blood shed for you. And that Cup, or the Wine alone, is not the Covenant; but as it is in Matthew, This is my Blood of the New Covenant, which is shed for many for the Remission of Sins: And in Mark, This is my Blood of the New Covenant which is shed for many. When therefore the clearness and emphaticalness of the words will not permit us to deny, but that the Body and Blood of Christ are receiv’d in the Sacred Supper, the only Question that remains is about the Manner of the Presence: And this seems what may be left undecided, provided only it be simply believ’d, that in this Sacrament the Body and Blood of Christ are truly given to us, and are verily and indeed taken and receiv’d, eaten and drank by us. For altho’ Christ was in a visible manner advanced into Heaven, yet since his Humane Nature by virtue of the Personal Union, is inseparable from the Divine, and is now not only possess’d of the Condition and State of a glorified Body, 1 Cor. 15:44. but also advanced to the right Hand of God, not to a certain Place, but to the right Hand of Power: He who considers the Truth and Omnipotence of God, may reasonably be ready to put off that Curiosity concerning the manner of the Presence, and may simply acquiesce in the Divine Word.