Of the schism of the consubstantialists.

The words of Christ, This is my body, were at first the only foundation upon which Luther based his view of the presence of Christ in the supper. Subsequently in the controversy which he had with those who opposed its view of consubstantiation, he took refuge in the years 27 and 28 to the doctrine of ubiquity, and instead of the one foundation upon which he at first based his view, he now proposed four: 1. The personal union of the two natures in Christ.

2. The right hand of God, which is everywhere.

3. The truth of God, who cannot lie.

4. The three-fold manner of the existence of Christ’s body in any place. Being at length driven from these, he again betook himself to the words of Christ, and desired that all disputation as to ubiquity might be brought to an end. Since the time of Luther, however, some who profess his name, not finding a sufficient support for their cause in the words of Christ, have again taken shelter under the doctrine of ubiquity, and to this day regard it as the main stay of their peculiar view. Yet there are others who reject it altogether. It is to this diversity of sentiment that the schism of the consubstantialists traces its origin. There are some who will be Lutherans simply, who defend impanation or the existence of Christ’s body in the bread, and the oral manducation by the words of Christ alone. There are other multi-presentiary and omni-potentiary Lutherans, who hold that the body of Christ is present at the same time in many hosts on account of the omnipotency really communicated to it. And, finally, there are some omni-presentiary, or ubiquitarian Lutherans, who, for the purpose of defending the presence of Christ’s body in the bread, seize the shield of ubiquity, and teach that the body of Christ, by virtue of its union with the Word, is everywhere present; and therefore, present also in the bread, before and after its use in the supper, and that the rite and consecration merely cause it to be eaten in the bread. Our young divines, that they may have a correct understanding of this controversy, must not be ignorant of these things; for from what we have said, they may see that to this day the doctrine of consubstantiation rests upon two main pillars, or props ubiquity and the words of Christ. We have already explained what is meant by ubiquity, and given a sufficient refutation of it in the exposition of the articles relating to the personal union of the two natures in Christ, his ascension into heaven, and sitting at the right hand of God the Father, to which we refer the reader. And as to the words of Christ, they neither teach the doctrine of consubstantiation, nor will they admit of such an interpretation, the Papists themselves being witnesses in the case. The ubiquitarians also acknowledge this in their writings, and have for this reason invented the doctrine of ubiquity, because they clearly saw that their views could not be sustained by the words of Christ; but would soon be overthrown if made to rest on this foundation.

Christ said, This is my body which is given for you. These words, however, the consubstantialists do not retain, neither as to the letter, nor as to the sense, when they say, in, with, and under this bread is my body. We do not therefore need any other arguments for the refutation of consubstantiation, than the words of Christ, to which we direct the attention of the advocates of this doctrine, and thus reason with them: Christ did not say, In this bread, is my body; but, This is my body. But these forms of speech do not express the same thing; for the former declares what is in the bread, and where the body of Christ is; whilst the latter declares what the bread itself is in the eucharist. Therefore, those who teach that the body of Christ is in the bread, and not that it is the bread itself, retain neither the letter, nor the sense of the words of Christ.