An Apology for the True Christian Divinity / Being an explanation and vindication of the principles and doctrines of the people called Quakers

by Robert Barclay

Answ.I answer in the plain and express Words of Christ, I am the Bread of 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 the Papists have 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; The Lutherans and Calvinists Opinions of the Flesh and Blood of Christ in the Supper so called.or (being a Lutheran) hast taken that Bread, in and with and under which the Lutherans have assured thee that the Flesh and Blood of Christ is; or (being a Calvinist) hast partaken of that which the Calvinists say (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; know that that Light which discovers thy Iniquity to thee, which shews thee thy Barrenness, thy Nakedness, thy Emptiness, is that Body which 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 be satisfied with it; [124]for it hath no Communion 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 small Seed of Righteousness to 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]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. [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 this one Body and one Blood, they come also to have a joint Communion. Hence the Apostle, 1 Cor. x. 17. in this Respect saith, That they [128]being many, are one Bread, and one Body; and to the Wise among the Corinthians he saith, The true spiritual Supper of the Lord.The Bread which we break is the Communion of the Body of Christ. This is the true and spiritual Supper of 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 the Scripture, 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 the Supper of the Lord, and the supping with the Lord, and partaking of his Flesh and Blood, is no Ways limited to the Ceremony of breaking Bread and drinking Wine at 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. and 55.

[124] 1 Cor. 6. 14.

[125] John 6. 53.

[126] John 6. 57.

[127] John 6. 56.

[128] 1 Cor. 10. Verse 16.

§. IV.

The Papists Faith of Christ’s Flesh.The First is of those that say, The Substance of the Bread is transubstantiated into the very Substance of that same Body, Flesh, and Blood of Christ, which was born of the Virgin Mary, and crucified by the Jews; so that after the Words of Consecration, as they call them, it is no more Bread, but the Body of Christ.

The Lutherans Faith.The Second is of such who say, The Substance of the Bread remains, but that also that Body is in, and with, and under the Bread; so that both the Substance of Bread, and of the Body, Flesh, and Blood of Christ, is there also.