VIII. Credimus, docemus et confitemur, unum tantum genus esse indignorum convivarum: ii sunt soli illi, qui non credunt. De his scriptum est (John iii. 18): 'Qui non credit, jam judicatus est.' Et hoc judicium indigno Sacræ Coenæ usu cumulatur et aggravatur [gehäufet, grösser und schwerer wird] (1 Cor. xi. 29). VIII. We believe, teach, and confess that there is one kind only of unworthy guests: they are those only who do not believe. Of these it is written (John iii. 18): 'He that believeth not is condemned already.' And this judgment is enhanced and aggravated by an unworthy use of the holy Supper (1 Cor. xi. 29). IX. Credimus, docemus et confitemur, quod nullus vere credentium, quam diu vivam fidem retinet, Sacram Domini Coenam ad judicium sumat, quantacunque fidei imbecillitate laboret. Coena. enim Domini inprimis propter infirmos in fide, poenitentes tamen, instituta est, ut ex ea veram consolationem et imbecillis fidei suæ confirmationem percipiant (Matt. ix. 12; xi. 5, 28). IX. We believe, teach, and confess that no true believer, so long as he retains a living faith, receives the holy Supper of the Lord unto condemnation, however much weakness of faith he may labor under. For the Lord's Supper has been chiefly instituted for the sake of the weak in faith, who nevertheless are penitent, that from it they may derive true consolation and a strengthening of their weak faith (Matt. ix. 12; xi. 5, 28). X. Credimus, docemus et confitemur, totam dignitatem, convivarum cælestis hujus Coenæ in sola sacratissima obedientia et absolutissimo Christi merito consistere. Illud autem nobis vera fide applicamus, et de applicatione hujus meriti per Sacramentum certi reddimur, atque in animis nostris confirmamur. Nequaquam autem dignitas illa ex X. We believe, teach, and confess that the whole worthiness of the guests at this heavenly Supper consists alone in the most holy obedience and most perfect merit of Christ. And this we apply to ourselves by true faith, and are rendered certain of the application of this merit, and are confirmed in our minds by the sacrament. But in no way does that worthiness depend
virtutibus nostris, aut ex internis vel externis nostris præparationibus pendet. upon our virtues, or upon our inward or outward preparations. Negativa. Negative. Contrariæ et damnatæ Sacramentariorum doctrinæ rejectio. Rejection of the contrary and condemned doctrine of the Sacramentarians. Rejicimus atque damnamus unanimi consensu omnes erroneos, quos jam recitabimus, articulos, ut qui commemoratæ piæ doctrinæ, simplicitati fidei et sinceræ confessioni de Coena Domini repugnant. We reject and condemn, by unanimous consent, all the erroneous articles which we will now recount, as being opposite to the above-stated godly doctrine, to the simplicity of faith, and to the sound confession concerning the Supper of the Lord: I. Papisticam Transsubstantiationem; cum videlicet in Papatu docetur, panem et vinum in Sacra Coena substantiam atque naturalem suam essentiam amittere, et ita annihilari, atque elementa illa ita in Christi corpus transmutari, ut præter externas species nihil de iis reliquum maneat. I. The papistical transubstantiation, when, to wit, in the Papal Church it is taught that the bread and wine in the holy Supper lose their substance and natural essence, and are thus annihilated, and those elements so transmuted into the body of Christ, that, except the outward species, nothing remains of them. II. Papisticum Missæ sacrificium, quod pro peccatis vivorum et mortuorum offertur. II. The papistical sacrifice of the Mass, which is offered for the sins of the living and the dead. III. Sacrilegium, quo Laicis una tantum pars Sacramenti datur, cum nimirum, contra expressa verba Testamenti Christi, calice illis interdicitur, atque ita sanguine Christi spoliantur. III. The sacrilege whereby one part of the sacrament only is given to the laity, the cup being forbidden them, against the express words of the Testament of Christ, and they are thus despoiled of the blood of Christ. IV. Dogma, quo docetur, quod IV. The dogma whereby it is
verba Testamenti Jesu Christi non simpliciter intelligenda et fide amplectenda sint, uti sonant; ea enim obscura esse, ideoque verum eorum sensum ex aliis Scripturæ locis petendum esse. taught that the words of the Testament of Jesus Christ are not to be understood and embraced by faith in simplicity as they sound, on the ground that they are obscure, and that therefore their true sense is to be sought from other places of Scripture. V. Corpus Christi in Sacra Coena non ore una cum pane sumi: sed tantum panem et vinum ore accipi: corpus vero Christi spiritualiter duntaxat, fide nimirum, sumi. V. That the body of Christ in the holy Supper is not received by the mouth together with the bread, but that only bread and wine are received by the mouth, while the body of Christ is taken only spiritually, to wit, by faith. VI. Panem et vinum in Coena Domini tantummodo symbola seu tesseras esse, quibus Christiani mutuo sese agnoscant. VI. That the bread and wine in the Lord's Supper are only symbols or tokens whereby Christians mutually recognize each other. VII. Panem et vinum tantum esse figuras, similitudines et typos corporis et sanguinis Christi, longissimo intervallo a nobis absentis. VII. That the bread and wine are only figures, similitudes, and types of the body and blood of Christ, who himself is very far distant from us. VIII. Panem et vinum tantummodo signa, memoriæ conservandæ gratia, instituta esse, quæ sigillorum et pignorum rationem habeant, quibus nobis confirmetur, quod fides, cum in cælum illa ascendit et evehitur, ibi tam vere corporis et sanguinis Christi particeps fiat, quam vere nos in Sacra Coena panem manducamus et vinum bibimus. VIII. That the bread and wine are only signs, instituted for a memorial, and having the character of seals and pledges, by which it is made sure to us that faith, when she ascends and is transported into heaven, there as truly becomes participant of the body and blood of Christ, as we do truly in the holy Supper eat the bread and drink the wine. IX. Fidem nostram de salute IX. That our faith concerning
certam reddi et confirmari in Coena Domini, non nisi signis illis externis, pane et vino: nequaquam autem, vere præsentibus vero corpore et sanguine Christi. our salvation is rendered certain and confirmed in the Supper of the Lord only by those external signs, bread and wine, but in nowise by the true body and blood of Christ truly present. X. In Sacra Coena duntaxat virtutem, operationem et meritum absentis corporis et sanguinis Christi dispensari. X. That in the holy Supper, only the virtue, operation, and merit of the absent body of Christ are dispensed. XI. Christi corpus ita coelo inclusum esse, ut nullo prorsus modo, simul, eodem tempore, pluribus aut omnibus locis in terris præsens esse possit, ubi Coena Domini celebratur. XL That Christ's body is so confined in heaven that it can in no mode whatever be likewise at one and the same time in many places, or in all the places where the Lord's Supper is celebrated. XII. Christum substantialem corporis et sanguinis sui præsentiam neque promittere neque exhibere potuisse, quandoquidem id proprietas humanæ ipsius naturæ assumtæ nequaquam ferre aut admittere possit. XII. That Christ could neither promise nor impart the substantial presence of his body and blood, inasmuch as the essential property of the human nature itself which he had assumed could by no means bear or admit of this. XIII. Deum ne quidem universa sua omnipotentia {horrendum dictu et auditu) efficere posse, ut corpus Christi, uno eodemque tempore in pluribus, quam uno tantum loco, substantialiter præsens sit. XIII. That God, even with all his omnipotence (a thing fearful to say and fearful to hear), can not effect that the body of Christ should be substantially present at one and the same time in more places than one. XIV. Non omnipotens illud verbum Testamenti Christi, sed fidem præsentiæ corporis et sanguinis Christi in Sacra Coena causam esse. XIV. That not that omnipotent word of the Testament of Christ, but faith is the cause of the presence of the body and blood of Christ in the holy Supper. XV. Fideles corpus et sanguinem XV. That the faithful ought not
Christi non in pane et vino Coenæ Dominicæ quærere, sed oculos in cælum attollere, et ibi corpus Christi quærere debere. to seek the body and blood of Christ in the Lord's Supper, but to lift their eyes to heaven, and there seek the body of Christ. XVI. Infideles et impoenitentes Christianos in Coena Domini non verum corpus et sanguinem Christi, sed panem tantum et vinum sumere. XVI. That unbelieving and impenitent Christians in the Lord's Supper do not receive the true body and blood of Christ, but only bread and wine. XVII. Dignitatem convivarum in hoc cælesti Coena non ex sola vera in Christum fide, sed etiam ex præparatione hominum externa pendere. XVII. That the worthiness of the guests at this heavenly Supper does not depend alone upon true faith in Christ, but upon the outward preparation of men. XVIII. Eos etiam, qui veram et vivam in Christum fidem habent, eamque retinent, nihilominus hoc sacramentum ad judicium sumere posse, propterea quod in externa sua conversatione adhuc imperfecti sint. XVIII. That even those who have and hold fast a true and living faith in Christ are capable of taking this sacrament to their condemnation, inasmuch as in their external course of life they are yet imperfect. XIX. Externa visibilia elementa panis et vini in sacramento adoranda esse. XIX. That the external, visible elements of bread and wine in the sacrament are to be adored. XX. Præter hæc justo Dei judicio relinquimus omnes curiosas, sannis virulentis tinctas, et blasphemas quæstiones, quæ honeste, pie, et sine gravi offensione recitari nequeunt, aliosque sermones, quando de supernaturali et cælesti mysterio hujus sacramenti crasse, carnaliter, Capernaitice, et plane abominandis modis, blaspheme, et maximo cum Ecclesiæ offendiculo, XX. Over and above these, we leave to the just judgment of God all curious and blasphemous questions imbued with virulent poison of mockeries, such as can not be set forth without grave offense to seemliness and piety, and other pratings, wherein the Sacramentarians speak of the supernatural and heavenly mystery of this sacrament grossly, carnally, Capernaitically, and in utterly abominable fashion,
Sacramentarii loquuntur. blasphemously, and to the most grievous offense of the Church. XXI. Prorsus etiam rejicimus atque damnamus Capernaiticam manducationem corporis Christi, quam nobis Sacramentarii contra suæ conscientiæ testimonium, post tot nostras protestationes, malitiose affingunt, ut doctrinam nostram apud auditores suos in odium adducant, quasi videlicet doceamus, corpus Christi dentibus laniari, et instar alterius cujusdam cibi, in corpore humano digeri. Credimus autem et asserimus, secundum clara verba Testamenti Christi, veram, sed supernaturalem manducationem corporis Christi, quemadmodum etiam vere, supernaturaliter tamen, sanguinem Christi bibi docemus. Hæc autem humanis sensibus aut ratione nemo comprehendere potest, quare in hoc negotio, sicut et in aliis fidei articulis, intellectum nostrum in obedientiam, Christi captivare oportet. Hoc enim mysterium in solo Dei verbo revelatur, et sola fide comprehenditur. XXI. We also utterly reject and condemn the Capernaitic manducation of the body of Christ, which, after so many protestations on our part, the Sacramentarians maliciously feign against us, contrary to the testimony of their own conscience, in order that they may bring our doctrine into discredit with their hearers, as if, forsooth, we taught that the body of Christ is torn by the teeth and digested in the human body like any other food. But we believe and assert, according to the plain words of the Testament of Christ, a true but supernatural manducation of the body of Christ, even as also we teach that the blood of Christ is truly, but nevertheless supernaturally, drunk. But these things no one is able with human senses or reason to comprehend; wherefore in this matter, as also in other articles of the faith, it behooves that our understanding be brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. For this mystery is revealed in the Word of God alone, and is comprehended by faith alone.
Art. VIII. Art. VIII. DE PERSONA CHRISTI. OF THE PERSON OF CHRIST. Ex controversia superiore de Coena Domini inter sinceros Theologos Augustanæ Confessionis, et Calvinistas, qui alios etiam quosdam Theologos perturbarunt, dissensio orta est de persona Christi, de duabus in Christo naturis, et de ipsarum proprietatibus. From the abovementioned controversy concerning the Lord's Supper between the sincere divines of the Augsburg Confession and the Calvinists, who had, moreover, unsettled certain other theologians, there has arisen a dissension concerning the person of Christ, concerning the two natures in Christ, and concerning the attributes of these. Status Controversiæ. Statement of the Controversy. Principalis hujus dissidii quæstio fuit, an divina et humana natura et utriusque proprietates propter unionem personalem, realiter, hoc est, vere et reipsa in persona Christi invicem communicent, et quousque illa communicatio extendatur? The principal question of this controversy has been whether the divine and the human nature in the attributes of each are in mutual communication really, that is, truly and in very fact and deed, in the person of Christ, and how far that communication extends. Sacramentarii affirmarunt, divinam et humanam naturas in Christo eo modo personaliter unitas esse, ut neutra alteri quicquam realiter, hoc est, vere et reipsa, quod cujusque naturæ proprium sit, communicet: sed nomina tantum nuda communicari. Unio {inquiunt illi) facit tantum nomina communia, ut videlicet Deus dicatur homo, et homo Deus appelletur, ita tamen, The Sacramentarians have affirmed that the divine and human natures are in such wise personally united in Christ that neither communicates to the other really, that is, truly and in very deed, any thing which is proper to either nature, but that bare names only are communicated. The union, say they, makes only the names common, so that, to wit, God is termed man, and man is called God, yet