A15857:364
H. Zanchius his confession of Christian religion Which now at length being 70. years…H. Zanchius his confession of Christian religion Which novve at length being 70. yeares…
H. Zanchius his confession of Christian religion Which now at length being 70. years of age, he caused to be published in the name of himself & his family. Englished in sense agreeable, and in words as answerable to his own latin copy, as in so grave a mans work is requisite: for the profit of all the unlearneder sort, of English christians, that desire to know his judgement in matters of faith.H. Zanchius his confession of Christian religion Which novve at length being 70. yeares of age, he caused to bee published in the name of himselfe & his family. Englished in sense agreeable, and in words as answerable to his ovvne latine copie, as in so graue a mans worke is requisite: for the profite of all the vnlearneder sort, of English christians, that desire to know his iudgement in matters of faith.
Cambridge: printed by John Legat, 1599Cambridge: printed by Iohn Legat, 1599
Title page typeset from the transcription.
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
XIV. By the unworthiness of the receivers, the virtue of the Sacraments is not taken away, nor weakened.
XIV. By the vnworthinesse of the receiuers, the vertue of the Sacraments is not taken away, nor weakened.
Neither yet do we thereby weaken or take away the virtue of the sacraments, and the force and power given unto them of God, which we acknowledge to depend, not upon the unworthiness of the ministers, or receivers but on the faith and virtue of Christ the institutor of the sacraments. For even as the gospel doth keep unto it self always, both the signification, though it be not understood of all, and the power of giving all things which it offereth, though all be not made partakers thereof: even so the sacraments, those visible words do the like: namely, that as the gospel of it self, is the power of God to salvation, but indeed to none but the believers: So also the sacraments are always the working instruments of the holy ghost to salvation, howsoever none receive this powerful working, but the true believers. For which cause, the Apostles feared not to call them all which were baptized, 1holy, renewed, righteous, although they ⟨p. 111⟩knew, that among them were many hypocrites. For by such speeches they declared the great power given by God unto the sacraments, & what we should believe they would work, unless perhaps our hypocrisy did hinder them. In which sense if a man say, that who so do eat the bread of the Lord, they also are made partakers of the Lords body, that is, it cannot stand with the virtue of the sacrament, and with the virtue of the author and distributor thereof, but who so be partakers of the sacrament, must needs also be partakers of the thing signified and offered by it: such a manner of speech we cannot disallow: so that such expositions might be added, by which the people might be instructed, and those false opinions, conceived before of the work wrought might be drawn out of their minds.