Further touching the place of the Ephes. for so muche as our sauiour Christ as he is head of his Church, is the spirituall gouernour thereof, it is meete that their gouernment which are ap∣poynted vnderneath him, as he is head, should be likewise spirituall, as his is. For as for the cyuil* 1.1 Magistrate, although he be appoynted of Chryst (as he is God) in whyche respecte there is none aboue Christ, yet he is not appoynted of hym, in respect that he is head of the Churche, in regarde whereof God is aboue Christ, and as the Apostle sayth, the head of him.
Christ is the head of the Churche, and spiritually gouerneth the same in the con∣science,* 1.2 but bicause it hath also an outwarde and visible forme, therefore it requireth an outwarde and visible gouernment, whiche Christ dothe execute aswell by the ci∣uill Magistrate, as he dothe by the ecclesiasticall minister, and therefore the gouern∣ment of the Churche, in the respect of the externall and visible forme of it, is not one∣ly spirituall. Christ gouerneth by him selfe spiritually onely, and by his ministers bothe spiritually and externally, and therefore your reason is nothing. But why doe you not answere in this place, to that which I charge them with, touching the ciuill* 1.3 Magistrate? In the former place where I spake no suche thing, you sayde that I vn∣truely surmised, that they shut out the ciuill Magistrate from punishing the wycked: But héere when I charge them, that by their application of this place, they take away ciuill Magistrates and other gouernours, that God hath placed in his Churche, you answere not one worde. In déede bothe you and they by your false interpretations of this and such lyke places, doe altogither seclude the ciuill Ma∣gistrate, from any gouernment of the Churche, and in effect say with the Papistes, that he dothe gouerne as he is man, and not as he is a Christian, and that he gouerneth men in that they be men, and not in that they be Christian men: which may well be spoken of the Turke, hauing Christians subiect vnder him: but it is wickednesse to thinke it of a Christian Magistrate, and it dothe not muche differ from the opinion of the Anabaptistes.