by Robert Barclay

“ 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 by a metaphor, 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. ”

“ Christ, I am the bread of life, saith he; he that John vi. 35. and 55. 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 ”

“ The communion of the body and blood of Christ is a mystery hid 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 to discern the Lord's body. ”

“ Thus salvation hath a necessary respect to holiness, because without holiness no man shall see God; and the eating of the flesh and blood of Christ hath a necessary respect to our having life, because if we eat not his flesh, and drink not his blood, we cannot have life; and our feeling of God's presence hath 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. ”

“ And yet they make the figure of circumcision to point to water-baptism, and the paschal lamb to bread and wine. But was it ever known that one figure was the anti-type of the other, especially seeing Protestants make not these their anti-types to have any more virtue and efficacy than the type had? For since, as they say, and that truly, That their sacraments [107] confer not grace, but that it is conferred according to the faith of the receiver, it will not be denied but the faithful among the Jews received also grace in the use of their figurative worship. ”

“ Araham, and Moses, and David; 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, 1 Cor. x. 3, 4. that the Fathers 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.) ”

“ For as without outward food the natural body hath not life, so [20] also saith Christ, 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, [21] lives thereby, so Christ with, that he that eateth him shall live by him. So it is this inward participation of this inward man, of this inward and spiritual body, by which man is united to God, and has fellowship and communion with him. ”

“ He that cometh unto this bread of life shall not hunger; and he that believes in him, who is this bread, shall never thirst. So then, as there was the outward visible body and [11] temple of Jesus Christ, which took its origin from the virgin Mary; there is also the spiritual body of Christ, by and through which He that was the Word in the beginning with 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 of eternal life, and to have communion and fellowship with God and Christ. ”

“ If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God: but bread and wine are not those things that are above, but are things of the earth. But that this whole matter was a mere act of indulgence and condescension of the apostle Paul to the weak and carnal Corinthians, appears
yet more by the Syriac [89] copy, which, vers. 17. ”

“ But as thou sufferest that small seed of righteousness to arise in thee, and to be formed into a birth, that new substantial [19] birth, that is brought forth in the soul, supernaturally feeds upon and is nourished by this spiritual body ”

“ IX. But since we find that several testimonies of scripture do sufficiently show, that such external rites are no necessary part of the new covenant dispensation, therefore not needful now to continue, however they were for a season practised of old, I shall instance some few of them, whereby from the nature of the thing, as well as those testimonies, [100] it may appear that the ceremony of bread and wine is ceased, as well as those other things confessed by our adversaries to be so. ”

“ 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. ”

“ If we respect the nature of the thing, it hath as much in it as either baptism or the breaking of bread; seeing it is an outward element of a cleansing nature, applied to the outward man, by the command and the example of Christ, to signify an inward purifying. ”

“ Those that without prejudice will look to the place, will see this must have been the case among the Corinthians: for supposing the use of this to have been then, as now used either by Papists, Lutherans, or Calvinists, it is hard making sense of the apostle's words, or indeed to conceive what was the abuse the Corinthians committed in this thing. Having thus observed what the apostle said above, because this custom of eating and drinking together some [83] time had its rise from Christ's act with the apostles the night he was betrayed; therefore the apostle proceeds, verse 23. ”

“ If I then your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another's feet: for I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. As to which, let it be observed, that John relates this passage to have been done at the same time with the other of breaking bread; both being done the [57] night of the passover, after supper. If we regard the narration of this, and the circumstances attending it, it was done with far more solemnity, and prescribed far more punctually and particularly than the former. It is said only, As he was eating, he took bread ”

“ That their corning together into one place, is not to eat the Lord's supper; he saith not, This is not the right manner to eat; but, This is not to eat the Lord's supper; because the supper of the Lord is spiritual, and a mystery. Secondly, He blames them, in that they came together for the worse, and not for the better; the reason he gives of this is, vers. 21. For in eating every one hath taken before his own supper; and one is hungry, and another is drunken. ”

“ This do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me: and then he adds, For as often [84] as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till he come: but these words [as often] import no more a command, than to say, As often as thou goest to Rome, see the Capitol, will infer a command to me to go thither.
[85] But whereas they urge the last words, Ye show forth the Lord's death till he come; insinuating, That this imports a necessary continuance of that ceremony, until Christ come at the end of the world to judgment ”

“ We find this ceremony only mentioned in scripture in four places, to wit, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and by Paul to the Corinthians. If any would infer any thing from the frequency of the mentioning of it,
that will add nothing; for it being a matter of fact, is therefore mentioned by the evangelists; and there are other things less memorable as often, [53] yea, oftener mentioned. Matthew and Mark give only an account of the matter of fact, without any precept to do so afterwards; simply declaring, that Jesus at that time did desire them to eat of the bread and drink of the cup ”

“ Wherefore, if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments [102] of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances? (Touch not, taste not, handle not: which all are to perish with the using) after the commandments and doctrines of men. ”

“ But doth not this contending for the use of water, bread, and wine, as necessary parts of the gospel-worship, destroy the nature of [106] it, as if the gospel were a dispensation of shadows, and not of the substance? Whereas the apostle, in that of the Colossians above mentioned, argues against the use of these things, as needful to those that are dead and arisen with Christ, because they are but shadows. And since, through the whole Epistle to the Hebrews, he argues with the Jews, to wean them from their old worship, for this reason, because it was typical and, figurative ”

“ Matthew saith, And as they were eating; and Mark, And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, &c. Now this act was no singular thing, neither any solemn institution of a gospel ordinance; because it was a constant custom among the Jews, as Paulus Riccius observes at length in his Celestial Agriculture, that when they did eat the passover, the master of the family did take bread, and bless it, and breaking it, gave of it to the rest; and likewise taking wine, did the same ”

“ Now that the primitive church, gathered immediately after his ascension, did so understand it, doth appear from their use and practice, if we admit those places of the Acts, where breaking of [74] bread is spoken of, to have relation hereto; which as our adversaries do so we shall willingly agree to: as first, Acts ii. 42. And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, &c. This cannot be understood of any other than of their ordinary eating ”

“ The former was a practice common among the Jews, used by all masters of families upon that occasion; but this, as to the manner, and person acting it, to wit, for the master to rise up, and wash the feet of his servants and disciples, was more singular and observable. In the breaking of bread, and giving of wine, it is not pleaded by our adversaries, nor yet mentioned in the text, that he particularly put them into the hands of all ”

“ Who then, that will open their eyes, but may see that the devil hath stirred up this contention and zeal, to busy men about things of small moment, that greater matters may be neglected, while he keeps them in such ado about this ceremony; though they lay aside others of the like nature, as positively commanded, and as punctually practised ”