The triall of the supremacy wherein is set fourth ye unitie of christes church milita[n]t geue[n] to S. Peter and his successoures by Christe and that there ought to be one head bishop in earth Christes vicar generall ouer all hys churche militant: wyth answeres to the blasphemous obiections made agaynste the same in the late miserable yeres now paste.

¶The .xix. obiection.

Christ before Pylate refused an earthlye kingdome, saying, his kingdome was not of this worlde: yea & whē they would haue made him a kinge he fled awaye.

¶The answere.

This maketh nothinge a∣gainst

the authority of S. Pe∣ter, or his successours y^t Popes holines. Christe came not to reigne in a tēporal kingdome. No true christen man euer be∣leued or taught the contrarye. He came not to depriue kinges of their worldly dignities and honours. He came to establish a new kingdome whych is spi∣ritual, for the saluation of the soule: and here of Saint Iohn speaketh saing thou hast rede∣med vs with thy bloud & made vs a kingdome to oure lorde, and we shall reigne vpon the earth. This kingdome Christ did ordeine, and made Peter head here of & his successours for euer: so that euery worldly Kinge or Prince if he wil be in this kingedome muste be sub∣iecte

to the head of the same, or els shall he neuer come to the kingdome of heauen, which is thonly cause of comming in to this spiritual kingdome here. As for infidels and heathen Princes whyche wyl neither thone nor thother I speke not of. Christe although he were Prince of y^e kinges of y^e earth, as S. Iohn saith, and as mā, not onlye as God, Kinge of Kinges and Lorde of Lordes (his vesture wherin that was written signifyed the humani∣tye that couered the godhed) yet when they woulde haue made him a Kyng, he fled, and no meruel for he came not ther¦fore.

His onlye comminge was to redeme mā with his bloud, be∣ynge

obediente to his father, euen vnto the vilest death: so that he came not to beare here in the world an earthlye scep∣ter: & for that he sayde to a cer∣taine yonge man requiringe right at his handes againste y^e iniuries of his brother: O thou man who appointed me to be iudge or deuider betwene you and your brother? as though he had sayd, that is not y^e cause of my comminge (at the leaste waye principallye) to meddel with suche ciuile matters, but it is to suffer death for mans raunsome. Howe be it, now to note a worde or .ii. although Christe in his owne person, came not to take in hand anye earthly kingdō, being notw^tstā¦ding as mā king of al kinges,

yet he would his disciples, that is to say, al that trulye professe him, be he of the laitie or clergy Kinge Byshop or other (for al suche be Christes Disciples) iustlye and godlye to vse and exercise all rules and offices here in the world: both kinges Byshoppes, Dukes, Lordes, Ladyes, both men and womē riche or pore high or lowe.

Notes

• Ioa. 28.
• Ioa. 6.
• Apoc. 5.