Objections in favor of Consubstantiation refuted.

Obj. 1. It is a common form of speech, when two things which are joined together are given at the same time, the one apparent, and the other not, that that alone which is not apparent should be named; as we ordinarily say of a purse filled with money, This is money; and of a cask of wine, This is wine. Christ in the supper, giving in the same manner two things jointly, viz: bread, and his body, named that only which was not apparent under the bread, saying: Take, this is my body. Therefore, the form of speech which is here used, is common and proper; and does not need any explanation. We reply to the major of this syllogism as follows: It is, indeed, a usual form of speech, when it is evident that the thing which is not apparent, and which is named, is contained in that which is apparent, as it is plain that money is in the purse, and wine in the cask; otherwise it would neither be a usual, clear, nor correct form of speech to say of an empty purse, this is money, &c. But it is not apparent, nor have the consubstantialists as yet proven, that the body of Christ was concealed in the bread, when he said in reference to it, This is my body; as it is evident that money is in the purse, and wine in the cask, when it is said, This is money, this is wine. Yea, we affirm in opposition to the consubstantialists, that the body of Christ was not concealed in the bread in the first supper, but reclined at the table, and is now in heaven, where it will remain until he will come to judge the quick and the dead. Therefore, this argument of our opponents is a begging of the question at issue. We also deny what is asserted in the minor proposition; for Christ, having taken and broken, not his body, but the bread which was on the table, giving it to the disciples, said: Take this (that is, this bread) is my body; which interpretation we prove by the following arguments:

1. Christ said of the cup, This cup is the New Testament.

2. Paul refers the particle this to the bread, when he says, The bread which we break is the communion of the body of Christ.

3. The bread, and the body of Christ, when taken together, are neither properly nor figuratively the very body of Christ, so that Christ by this interpretation is made to utter a vain tautology, saying, My body, is my body. We in like manner deny the consequence drawn from the above syllogism, because there is more in the conclusion than in the premises. They conclude that the form of speech is common and proper. But the terms, common and proper, have not the same form and signification; for the most common form of speech may be figurative; as is the case with the common, and yet synecdochical forms of speech to which we have so often referred, This is money; this is wine. For who is so simple as to believe that the purse alone, or the purse with the money, is properly money. So the sacramental form of speech in reference to the Passover was common and well known to the disciples: “Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the Passover?” (Matt. 26:17.) And yet they did not speak properly, but figuratively, attributing to the sign the name of the thing signified, by a sacramental metonymy. Hence all that follows legitimately from the above premises, is that the words of Christ were common, plain and understood by the disciples; but not that they were understood properly, literally, and without any figure.

Obj. 2. Christ said, This is my body. Christ now is true. Therefore, we must believe him, setting aside all philosophical subtlety; and as a matter of consequence, must understand his words simply, and literally.

Ans There is here an incorrectness in regarding that as a cause, which is none. For the truth of Christ merely brings it to pass that his words are true; yea, most true, which we ought to believe, setting aside all philosophical subtlety; but this is no reason why the words of Christ should be understood literally, and properly; for he who speaks figuratively may also speak that which is true, as Christ was no less true, yea, the truth itself, when he said: I am the light of the world; I am the door; I am the good shepherd; I am the true vine; my Father is the husbandman; and ye are the branches; than when he said: This is my body. Those, therefore, who have the boldness to say that figurative forms of speech are lies, ought to be hissed ought of our schools, and denounced. We may also invent the argument and reason thus: Christ is true; therefore, he did not say, that his body was concealed in the bread, when all the disciples saw that it reclined at the table. So we may also in like manner retort the consequence which our adversaries draw from the above syllogism and say: The words of Christ are to be understood simply; therefore, no interpretation is to be put upon them, which conflicts with the letter, as when it is said. in, with, and under the bread is the body of Christ, or that the bread is the closet or covering of the body of Christ.

Obj. 3. Christ is omnipotent. Therefore, he can bring it to pass, that his body may be really in the bread.

Ans. That, however, is no just conclusion which infers that a thing will be done, because it may be done. The question is not, what Christ can do, but what he will do. He has nowhere promised the presence of his body in the bread, or in the place of the bread. We do not, therefore, take anything from his omnipotence, when we reject such a presence as our opponents advocate. To this it is, objected as follows: The bread is present in the place of the supper. The bread is the body of Christ. Therefore, the body of Christ is present in the supper. Ans. But the minor proposition of this syllogism is figurative, according to the confession of our adversaries themselves; for James Andreae, in the controversy at Maulbronn, when he could in no other way extricate himself from the difficulties which pressed themselves upon the views which he advocated, openly confessed that when it is said, The bread is the body of Christ, the language is figurative; but that it is proper when it is said, This is my body. This same Andreae afterwards wrote, that when the phrase, The bread is the body of Christ, is used, it is to be understood properly, and without any figure. Is this not to blow hot and cold from the same mouth?

Obj. 4. The words of Christ cannot be changed. Christ said this is my body. Therefore, the word signifies ought not to be substituted for is.

Ans. 1. We grant the whole argument; for we do not substitute the word signifies, for is, nor do we change the words of Christ, but we retain them as they were uttered by Christ himself. But we maintain that the true and natural sense of these words is, that the bread is the body of Christ symbolically, that is, it is the sacrament or sign of the body of Christ; or, it signifies the body of Christ. Christ himself interprets these words thus, when he said, This do in remembrance of me. So does Paul when he says, “This cup is the New Testament in my blood” Tertulian says: “The bread which Christ took and distributed among the disciples he made his body, saying, This is my body, that is, it is the FIGURE of my body” Ambrose in like manner, says: “This offering is the FIGURE of the body and blood of our Lord” Augustin also says: “Oar Lord did not hesitate to say. This is my body, when he gave THE SIGN of his body.” 2. We may turn the arguments against our opponents thus: The words of Christ must not be changed. Therefore, the interpretation which the advocates of transubstantiation put upon the words of Christ, when they say, Under these forms is, or is contained my body, is false; as also that of the advocates of consubstantiation, when they say, In, with and under this bread, is my body invisibly present. 3. The words of Christ must not be changed, so as to express a different idea from that which he intended. And yet they are often to be changed in order that we may properly understand them, as when he said, “Pluck out thine eye.” “If any man will take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also.” (Matt. 5:29, 40.) Words must, therefore, be understood according to the nature of the things spoken of.

Obj. 5. The language used in testaments must be understood properly, unless there be something about the will of the testator which gives occasion for contention. The supper is the New Testament. Therefore, the language used in reference to it must be understood properly.

Ans. We reply to the major proposition, that the language used in testaments must be understood properly if it be spoken properly; and figuratively, if it be spoken figuratively. But if it is maintained that every word must be understood properly, we deny the major; for it is sufficient if the language be clear and intelligible, although it may not be spoken properly, but figuratively. When we know the intention and will of the testator, it is useless to dispute about the language, or words of the testament. So God in the Old Testament spoke figuratively of circumcision, of the Paschal Lamb and of sacrifices. So Christ also spoke figuratively in the New Testament, when he said, Take and drink, This cup is the New Testament in my blood. For there is here a double figure:

1. A synecdoche, when he commands them to drink the cup, meaning the wine in the cup.

2. A metonymy, when he calls the cup the New Testament, meaning the reconciliation of the human race with God, sealed with his blood.

Obj. 6. The eating of bread is with the mouth. But the eating of the body is also the eating of bread. Therefore the eating of the body is with the mouth.

Ans. The minor proposition must either be understood figuratively, or else it is false. If it is spoken figuratively, it must be thus understood: The eating of the body is the thing signified, and sealed by the eating of the bread. If it is thus understood it proves nothing, inasmuch as there is a change in the kind of affirmation which is made. But if it be understood properly it is false; for the eating of bread is external, corporal and visible; whilst the eating of the body is internal, spiritual and invisible. They are, therefore, not properly one and the same kind of eating; but as the thing signified is distinct from the sign, so the reception of both the sign, and the thing signified is distinct, although each occurs at the same time in the lawful use of the sacraments.

Obj. 7. That which quickens and nourishes us must necessarily be received. The body and blood of Christ quicken and nourish us. Therefore, they must necessarily be received, that is, eaten and drank with the mouth.

Ans. Nothing can be inferred from mere particulars. Or we may thus reply to the major proposition: That which nourishes and quickens us naturally, by being brought into contact with the body, as is the case with common bread, does not, indeed, nourish and strengthen us, unless it be eaten with the mouth. But it is far different as it respects the nourishment of the soul, which is spiritual. The body of Christ does not nourish us naturally, for it does not produce in us any new qualities, as medicine; but it nourishes and quickens us in a manner different from that which is natural, which requires that we should receive it differently. Now as to the manner in which the body and blood of Christ nourish us, it has, in the first place, a respect to his merit. For the body of Christ was delivered, and his blood shed for us; and it is in view of this that God grants unto us eternal life. Hence Christ’s body and blood must quicken us in this manner, as meriting for us eternal life. Secondly, we are quickened and nourished, when we receive by a true faith the merit of the body and blood of Christ; that is, when we believe that we shall have eternal life for the sake of the merit of Christ’s body, and blood broken and shed for us. This faith now rests upon Christ as crucified, and not as dwelling in us after a corporal manner. Thirdly, we are quickened by the body and blood of Christ when we are united to him by the same Spirit, who works the same things in us, which he does in Christ; for unless we are ingrafted into Christ, we do not please God, who will receive us into his favor, and grant unto us the remission of our sins, only upon the condition, that we are ingrafted into Christ and united to him by that faith, which the Holy Ghost works in us. This now being the manner in which we are quickened and nourished by the body and blood of Christ, there is no necessity that his body and blood should descend, or be made to enter into our bodies, in order that we may be quickened by them.

To this it is objected: Our bodies, as well as our souls, are fed and nourished with the body and blood of Christ unto everlasting life. Therefore, it is necessary that our bodies, as well as our souls, should eat and drink. Our bodies now eat and drink orally. Ans. The major of this syllogism, whatsoever is fed with the body of Christ is nourished unto eternal life, which is omitted, is false if understood in its general sense. For we might ask, Do the different parts of the body, therefore, eat, because they are nourished by the food which is received by the mouth? It is sufficient that eating is by the mouth, as an instrument provided by nature, for the purpose of communicating nourishment to the whole system. So it is not necessary, that our bodies should eat with the mouth the body of Christ, in order that they may be nourished unto eternal life. It is sufficient that we receive spiritual food with the mouth of faith, that spiritual nourishment and life may be transfused through the whole man.