(In the last two paragraphs Dr. Kuyper has discussed the functioning of the office of all believers in the church and has made some remarks concerning the church’s material possessions. He now continues with the discussion of the government of the church.)
(Kuyper is discussing reformation in the church through the way of separation from the church. He is discussing the conditions under which such separation becomes necessary and the individual’s calling to be obedient to God even when he faces opposition from his church. This kind of reformation must begin in the local congregation of which the individual is a member when that local congregation begins to lose the marks of the true church.)
(Kuyper has been talking about the institute of the church and particularly about the special offices in the church. In connection with the latter, he has just finished in the previous paragraph a discussion of Christian discipline.)
(As Kuyper is discussing the deterioration of the church, he discusses how this deterioration or deformation takes place in various aspects of the church’s life. He has spoken of this deterioration in the confession of the church, in the walk of the church, in the administration of the means of grace, and in the work of the office bearers. He continues to discuss this deterioration in the following paragraphs.)
(Kuyper is discussing in some detail the deterioration of the church. He has discussed this deterioration in various aspects of the church’s life. In the last paragraph which appeared in the Standard Bearer, he discussed this deterioration in the government of the church.)
(In the last paragraph Kuyper has discussed the responsibility of individual members, whether ordinary members of the congregation or office bearers in the church, with respect to unfaithfulness and disobedience in the church. He has discussed what the calling of these members is and how they must begin the work of church reformation and separation from the church of which they are members. The discussion in the last paragraph had to do particularly with one’s responsibility in the local congregation.
(In the last article Kuyper began a discussion of the reformation of the church by way of separation from the denomination. He talked briefly about the fact that such reformation always begins in the local congregation. But as that reformation begins in the local congregation, it can be either opposed or supported by the local consistory. If the local consistory supports such reformation then it comes into conflict with the federation of churches.
Chapter 4 CONCERNING THE REFORMATION OF THE CHURCHES (With the last paragraph Kuyper has finished his discussion of how the church here on earth goes through a process of deterioration. He now turns his attention to the reformation of the churches.)
(In the last article Kuyper began a discussion concerning reformation by means of separation from the denomination. He suggested, in this connection, two possibilities: one possibility is that the consistory of a local congregation is in conflict with the church federation; the other is that an individual is in conflict with the church federation. Kuyper now proposes to discuss these two possibilities separately.)
. (In the last paragraph Kuyper has explained that the deformation of the church is due to three causes: the destructive work of Satan, the sins of individual members, and the sins of the fellowship of the church as a whole. He continues this discussion in the following paragraph.)
