Of the Sacraments.—Cap. XXI.

As the Fathers under the Law, besides the verity of the sacrifices, had two chief Sacraments, to wit, Circumcision and the Passover, the despisers and contemners whereof were not reputed God's people; so do we acknowledge and confess that we now, in the time of the Evangel, have two Sacraments only, institute by the Lord Jesus, and commanded to be used of all those that will be reputed members of His body, to wit, Baptism and the Supper, or Table of the Lord Jesus, called the Communion of His body and blood. And these Sacraments, as well357 of the Old as of the New Testament, were institute of God, not only to make a visible difference betwixt His people and those that were without His league, but also to exercise the faith of His children; and by participation of the same Sacraments, to seal in their hearts the assurance of His promise, and of that most blessed conjunction, union, and society, which the elect have with their Head, Christ Jesus. And thus we utterly condemn the vanity of those that affirm Sacraments to be nothing else but naked and bare signs. No, we assuredly believe that by Baptism we are ingrafted in Christ Jesus to be made partakers of His justice, by the which our sins are covered and remitted; and, also, that in the Supper, rightly used, Christ Jesus is so joined with us, that He becomes the very nourishment and food of our souls. Not that we imagine any transubstantiation of bread into Christ's natural body, and of wine into His natural blood, as the Papists have perniciously taught and damnably believed; but this union and communion which we have with the body and blood of Christ Jesus in the right use of the Sacraments, is wrought by operation of the Holy Ghost, who by true faith carries us above all things that are visible, carnal and earthly, and makes us to feed upon the body and blood of Christ Jesus, which was once broken and shed for us, which now is in the heaven, and appeareth in the presence of the Father for us. And yet, notwithstanding the far distance of place, which is betwixt His body now glorified in the heaven and us now mortal in this earth, yet we most assuredly believe that the bread which we break is the communion of Christ's body, and the cup which we bless is the communion of His blood. So that we confess and undoubtedly believe that the faithful, in the right use of the Lord's Table, so do eat the body and drink the blood of the Lord Jesus, that He remaineth in them and they in Him; yea, that they are so made flesh of His flesh, and bone of His bones, that, as the Eternal Godhead hath given to the flesh of Christ Jesus (which of its own condition and nature was mortal and corruptible) life and immortality, so doth Christ Jesus His flesh and blood eaten and drunken by us, give to us the same prerogative. Albeit we confess that these are neither given unto us at that358 only time, nor yet by the proper power and virtue of the Sacraments alone, we affirm that the faithful in the right use of the Lord's Table have such conjunction with Christ Jesus as the natural man cannot comprehend: yea, and farther we affirm that, albeit the faithful oppressed by negligence, and human infirmity, do not profit so much as they would at the very instant action of the Supper, yet shall it after bring forth fruit, as lively seed sown in good ground; for the Holy Spirit, which can never be divided from the right institution of the Lord Jesus, will not frustrate the faithful of the fruit of that mystical action. But all this, we say, comes by true faith, which apprehendeth Christ Jesus, who only makes His Sacraments effectual unto us; and, therefore, whosoever slandereth us, as that we affirmed or believed Sacraments to be only naked and bare signs, do injury unto us, and speak against a manifest truth. But liberally and frankly we must confess that we make a distinction betwixt Christ Jesus in His natural substance and the elements in the Sacramental signs; so that we will neither worship the signs in place of that which is signified by them, nor yet do we despise and interpret them as unprofitable and vain; but we use them with all reverence, examining ourselves diligently before we do so, because we are assured by the mouth of the Apostle that such as eat of that bread, and drink of that cup, unworthily, are guilty of the body and blood of the Lord Jesus.