(Note: Kuyper is still talking in this paragraph of the proper formation of the church. In this connection he has talked about the relationship between the church as organism and the church as institute, the relationship between the office of believers and the special offices in the church, and how the institute of the church is actually formed. It is, in Kuyper’s judgment, necessary to understand the true nature of the church in order to understand how the church can deteriorate and degenerate and why the church is in need of church reformation.