oweth to his seueraigne and superior like subiection by the word of God, taught vnto vs by Peter and Paule, as other Bishops do to theyr princes, vnder whom they be. &c.

Also, an other  

expresse commaundement wee haue of Christ. Luk. 22. who vpon the occasion of his disciples striuing for superiority, discusseth the matter, saying on thys wise: MarginaliaLuke. 22.The kinges of the people and nations haue dominion ouer them, and those that haue power ouer them be called gracious Lords, but so it shal not be amongst you. But whosoeuer amongst you is the greater shalbe as the yonger. And whosoeuer amongst you shall be chiefe, shalbe as a seruaunt and a minister. &c.

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And againe, MarginaliaIohn. 18.Christ speaking  

to Pilate of his kingdome declareth that his kingdome is not of this world, & therefore sayth Tonstall, those that go about to make of Christs spirituall kingdome, a worldly kingdome, do fall into the error of some heretickes that looke that Christ after the day of iudgement, shall raign with all his sayntes here in earth carnally in Hierusalem, as the Iewes do beleue that Messias is yet to come and when he shall come, he shall raigne worldly in Hierusalem.

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By these and such other places it may well appere, that Christ neither before his incarnation, (as Tonstall sayth) nor after his incarnation, did euer alter the authoritye of worldly kinges and Princes, but by his owne woorde, commaunded them still to be obeyed of theyr subiectes, as they had bene in the auncient time before. &c. And for examples of the same, he alledgeth first þ^e example of Christ himselfe. Mathew. 22.MarginaliaMath. 22. Examples of Christes humble subiection. who being  

asked of the Iewes, whether they should geue tribute to Cæsar or no, he bad thē geue to Cæsar those thinges that be his, and to God those thinges that be his, signifying that tribute was due to Cæsar, and that theyr soules were due to God. &c.

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Also, in the 17. of Mathew  

MarginaliaMath. 17. it appeareth that Christ bad Peter pay tribute for him and his Disciples, when it was demaunded of him. And why? Because he woulde not chaunge the order of obeysaunce to worldly Princes due by theyr subiectes. &c.

An other example  

of Christe he citeth out of the 6. of Iohn,MarginaliaIohn. 6. where after Christ had fed fiue thousand and moe, with a few loaues, and fewer fishes, and that the Iewes would haue takē him and made him theyr king, he fled from them, and woulde not consent vnto them. For the kingdome (sayth he) that he came to set here in earth, was not a worldly and temporall kingdome, but an heauenly and spirituall kingdome, that is, to raigne spiritually by grace and fayth in the hartes of all Christen and faythfull people, of what degree, or of what nation soeuer they be, and to turne al people and nations, which at his comming were carnall & liued after the lustes of the flesh, to be spirituall and to liue after the lustes of the spirite, that Christ with his father of heauen, might reigne in the hartes of all men. &c.

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And here in these examples of Christes humility, farther is to be noted, how Christ the sonne of God did submit himselfe, not only to the rulers and powers of this world, but also deiected himselfe and in a maner, became seruaunt to his owne Apostles: so far of  

was he from all ambitious and pompous seeking of worldly honor: For so appeared in him, not onely by washing the feet of his Apostles, but also the same time a litle before his passion, when the Apostles fell at contention among themselues, who among thē should be superiour, he setting before them the example of his owne subiection, asketh this question: MarginaliaLuke. 22.Who is superiour,  

Commentary     Close

Luke 22.27.

he that sitteth at the Table, or he that serueth at the Table? Is not he superior that sitteth? but I am amongest you, as he that ministreth, and serueth. &c.

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The like examples Tonstall also inferreth of Peters humility. For where we read  

in the Actes, how the Centurion a noble man of great age, MarginaliaExamples of Peters subiection. Act. 10.did prostrate himselfe vpon the ground at the feete of Peter: then Peter not suffering that eftsoones tooke him vp and bad him rise, saying: I am also a man as thou art.

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So likewise did the Aungell, Apocalips. 19. and 22.  

to whom when Iohn would haue fallen downe to haue adored him which shewed him those visions, the Aungell sayd vnto him:MarginaliaApoc. 19. 22. See thou do not so, for I am the seruaunt of God, as thou art. &c.

Agayne in the foresaid Peter  

what an example of reuerent humility is to be sene in this, that notwithstāding he with other Apostles hauing his commission to go ouer all yet neuerthelesse he being at Ioppa and sent for by Cornelius, durst not go to him, without the vision of a sheete let downe from heauen, by the which vision he was admonished not to refuse the Gentiles: or els he knew in himselfe so such primacy ouer all people and places geuē vnto him, nor no such commission so large aboue the other. &c.

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Furthermore  

, the sayd Peter being rebuked of Paule his felow brother, tooke no scorne therof, but was content, submitting himselfe to due correction.

MarginaliaThe Popes obiections.But here  

, sayth Tonstall, steppeth in the B. of Rome and sayth that Peter had authority geuen aboue all the residue of the Apostles, & alledgeth the wordes of Christ spoken to him. Math. 16. MarginaliaMath. 16.Thou art Peter, and vpon this rocke I wil build my Church, & will geue to thee, the keyes of the kingdome of heauen: and whatsoeuer thou shalt binde vpon earth, shall be bound in heauen. This sayd Christ, sayth the Pope, and S. Peter is buryed at Rome   , whose successor I am, & ought to rule the Church, as Peter did, and to be porter of heauē gates, as Peter was. &c.

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And Christ sayd  

also to Peter after his resurrection: MarginaliaIohn. 21.Feede my sheepe, which he spake to him onely, so that thereby he had authority ouer all that be of Christes flocke, and I as his successour, haue the same. And therefore who so will not obey me, King or Prince, I wyll curse hym, and depriue him of his kingdome or seigniory: MarginaliaThe ambitious pride of the Pope.For al power is geuen to me, that Christ hath, and I am his Vicare generall, as Peter was here in earth, ouer all & none but I, as Christ is in heauen.

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MarginaliaThe scriptures falsely peruerted by the pope.This ambitious and pompous obiection (sayth Tonstall) of the Pope, and his adherentes, hath of late yeares much troubled the world, and made dissention, bebate, and open warre in all partes of Christēdome, & all by a wrong interpretatiō of the Scripture. Who if he would take those places after the right sense of them, as both the Apostles themselues taught vs, and all the auncient best learned interpretours dd expound them, the matter were soone at a poynt. But otherwise, sith they peruert the Scripture, and preach an other Gospell in that poynt to vs, then euer the apostles preached, we haue therin  

a general rule to folow: MarginaliaGal. 1.That though an Aungell came from heauen, and woulde tell vs such new expositions of those places, as are now made, to turne the wordes, which were spoken for spirituall authoritye of preaching the word of God, and ministring of the Sacramentes to a worldly authority, we ought to reiect him, as S. Paule willeth vs Gala. I.

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MarginaliaThe place of Math. 16. expounded.To open therfore the true sense of the Scripture in the places aforesayd, and first to begin  

with the 16. Chapiter of Mathew here is to be obserued that the question being put in generall of Christ to all his Apostles, what they thought or iudged of him, Peter aunswering for them all, as he was alwayes ready to answere, sayd: Thou art Christ, the sonne of the liuing God. To whom Iesus aunswered agayne: Blessed be thou Symon the Sonne of Iona: for fleshe and bloud hath not reueled this vnto thee, but my Father which is in heauen: And I say to thee, thou art Peter, and vpon this rocke I will builde my Church, and the gates of hell shall not preuayle against it. That is to say:   vpon this rocke of thy confession of mee to be the Sonne of GOD, I will builde my Churche: for this fayth conteineth the whole summarye of our fayth and saluatiō, as it is written Rom. 10.MarginaliaRom. 10. The word of fayth, that we do preach is at hande, in thy mouth and in thine hart. For if thou confesse with thy mouth our Lord Iesus Christ, MarginaliaFiath, the mother of saluatiō.& with thy hart do beleue that God raised him frō death to life thou shalt be saued. &c. MarginaliaPeter the first confessor of Christ.And this confession being first vttered by the mouth of Peter, vpon the same confession of his, & not vpon the person of Peter, Christ buildeth his Church, as Chrisostome expoundeth   that place in the 26. Sermon of þ^e feast of Pentecost, saying: MarginaliaThe church builded vppon the confession of Peter, not vppon the Person of Peter.Not vpō the person of Peter, but vpō the fayth, Christ hath builded his church. And what is the fayth? This: Thou art Christ the sonne of the liuing God. What is to say, vpon this rocke? That is, vpon this confessiō of Peter. &c. And with this saying of Chrisostome, all aūcient expositors, sayth Tonstal treating that place, do agree, For if we should expoūd that place, that the church is builded vpō the person of Peter, we should put an other foūdation of the Church, then Christ, which is directly agaynst   S, Paule, saying: Marginalia1. Cor. 3.No man may put any other foundation, but that which is put already, which is Christ Iesus. &c.

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MarginaliaWhat is the primacye of Peter, and how it, commeth.And because Peter was the first of all the Apostles, that confessed this, that Christ is the sonne of God, by þ^e which fayth all men must be saued: thereof commeth the primacy, that is, the first place or standing of Peter in the nūber of all the Apostles.

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And as Peter was the firste of them that confessed Christ to be the sonne of God, so was he most ardent in his fayth, most bolde and hardy in Christ, as appeared by  

his comming out of the shippe in the great tempest, and also most vehemēt in his maysters cause, as appeared by   drawing out his sword, and after the Lords resurrection, is declared in the 2. 3. 4. chapiter of the Actes: where as the Iewes withstanding the Apostles preaching the fayth of Christ, Peter as most ardent in fayth, was euer most ready to defend the fayth against the impugners therof, speaking for them all vnto the people. &c. MarginaliaThe honorable names of Peter in the olde Doctors, how & wherfore they be geuen.and therfore hath these honorable names geuen him, by the auncient interpreters, þ^t some times he is called the mouth of the Apostles, þ^e chiefe of the Apostles, some time the Prince of the Apostles, some

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