The Bible shows us from the very beginning that there are only two possible manners of life we can choose from on this earth. These two manners of life are portrayed by two trees in the garden of Eden, and then by two lines of descendants from Adam and Eve. In God's original creation there were two trees: the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Adam and Eve fell by partaking of the second tree, the tree of knowledge. After they fell Eve gave birth to two sons, Cain and Abel. Then with these two sons the Bible begins to portray two different “lines” of mankind. Just as with the two trees, these two lines may be called the line of life and the line of knowledge. The principle is the same. The two trees and the two lines represent two distinct manners of life.

From the very beginning God planned for there to be only two possible lines of mankind. We may think that there are many different ways we can live on this earth. For example, we can become a businessman, an engineer, a blue-collar worker, a manager, a scholar, a scientist, or any number of things. We may think that there are many different possibilities in the human life. But in the sight of God we can only belong to one of two possible lines. Either we are in the line of life, or we are in the line of the knowledge of good and evil. These are the only two possible manners of life that are available for us to choose from.

Soon after their fall Adam and Eve gave birth to their sons Cain and Abel. Cain eventually grew up to be a farmer (Gen. 4:2). Cain became a farmer because he learned something from his father. It is likely that Adam brought his two sons together while they were still young and explained to them what had happened when he and his wife fell by eating of the tree of knowledge. Adam must have told Cain and Abel that God appeared to them after the fall and said, “Cursed is the ground because of you; in toil will you eat of it all the days of your life…By the sweat of your face you will eat bread” (Gen. 3:17-19). Originally in the garden of Eden there was no need for farming. Everything man needed to survive simply grew and flourished. Eden was a pleasant and fruitful place. But after the fall of man, the entire earth changed. Even the ground itself became different in its operation. God told Adam that he must now labor on the land to survive. Man now needed to farm the land. Man could only eat by the toil of his labor and the sweat of his face. Adam must have explained this to his two sons, and this is why Cain became a farmer. God said to toil on the ground, and Cain was obedient to God's commandment.

Although Cain was a farmer according to God's commandment, he did not have a vision from God. Cain's thought was, “God told us that we should farm the land, and that by our sweat we would have something to eat. Therefore I must become a farmer.” But Cain's brother Abel was different. Abel saw something higher. It may be that after hearing about what happened after the fall, Abel then asked his father, “Why do you wear a garment like the one you have on?” Adam would have explained, “After your mother and I ate from the tree of knowledge, we were scared. We found some leaves to cover ourselves, and hid from God's presence. But God sought us out and found us. Then after He found us, He slaughtered some animals and made us clothes from the skins for us to put on.” This caused Abel to see a vision. Abel realized that God had provided man with salvation, and that this salvation was fully related to being covered by the animal skins. This caused Abel to become a shepherd. While Cain became a farmer, Abel became a shepherd of the sheep (Gen. 4:2). Abel lived according to a vision from God, a vision of God's salvation.

From the very beginning of mankind there were two different lines representing two different manners of life. The first line, the line of Cain, began with God's commandment. This line began with the thought, “I will do this, because God had said so.” This is the line of knowledge, which is also the line of religion. The second line, the line of Abel, began with a vision. Abel's line began with the realization, “I have seen something according to God's desire, and I must live according to this vision.” This is the line of life. We must realize that doing what God says is not nearly as high as understanding God's heart. Everything that Cain did was fully according to God's commandment, while everything that Abel did was fully according to a vision of God's salvation. In our following of the Lord we must choose between these two lines.

Eventually Cain and Abel each offered something to God. The two manners of life resulted in two different offerings. Cain offered something from his farming, “the fruit of the ground,” and Abel offered something from his shepherding, “the firstlings of his flock” (Gen. 4:3-4a). Then God Himself appeared, because at that time man could still see God face to face. The Bible records that God would not even look at Cain's offering. God only looked at Abel's offering (Gen. 4:4b-5). It would not have been so humiliating for Cain if God had looked at his offering and had said, “Cain, you need to improve this. You didn't do so well.” Then Cain could have repented and there would have been no further problem. But God simply ignored Cain. For some reason God wouldn't even look at Cain or his offering. Instead God went directly to Abel's offering. God's enjoyment of Abel's offering was a deep suffering to Cain.

Why didn't God appreciate Cain's offering, and why did God enjoy Abel's offering? We could argue with God, “You were the one who told Adam to farm the land. Cain only did what his father told him to do. But you wouldn't even look at his offering. You only loved Abel's offering. Isn't this unfair?” But God would reply to us, “Don't you know that since man fell, no one even has the right to see Me? Any person who wants to see me must take My salvation that I prepared for them. Abel's offering was according to a vision of My salvation. That is why I accepted his offering.”

When the Lord Jesus came, John the Baptist saw Him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). Christ as the Lamb of God was typified by the sheep that Abel offered. Abel's offering from the firstlings of his flock meant that he realized he could only come to God according to God's prepared salvation. Abel's offering was according to a vision. Why, on the other hand, did God not even look at Cain's offering? Because Cain's offering was merely according to God's commandment. Cain's offering was in the sphere of religion. He offered something to God out of his own work without taking God's salvation. Therefore his offering did not give him access to God.

The line of Cain is the line of knowledge. It is the line that uses logic. Cain realized that God had said man needed to labor on the earth for food, so Cain became a farmer. This was logical. Then he offered something from the fruit of the ground, but God rejected Cain's offering. Abel, on the other hand, was not concerned so much for his physical survival. At that time people didn't even eat meat, so Abel's shepherding had nothing to do with survival. Nor did Abel farm for food. Probably the only way for Abel to eat was to live off his brother's farming. But Abel knew that if he wanted to see God he must be covered with sheepskin. Therefore he became a shepherd. God responded to Abel's offering and was very happy. Both of these sons of Adam did their best to please God by offering something for Him. However, Cain's offering was according to his logic, while Abel's offering was according to a vision. These two offerings produced very different results. God rejected one and was pleased with the other.

After God rejected his offering, Cain was so angry and jealous that he slew his own brother (Gen. 4:8). Abel was murdered in the very field where Cain had worked so hard to obey God's commandment. Abel was the first martyr in the Bible and in the whole human race. Why was Abel martyred? Because he saw a vision and laid hold of that vision. Abel lived a life that was not according to reason or logic. He knew that God had said to Adam that man must work on the land and toil with sweat for something to eat. But Abel didn't do any of this. He didn't work on the land for food. Instead he became a shepherd and offered sheep to God. This shows that Abel did not live according to God's commandment, nor did he live by human logic. Instead he lived according to a high vision of God's salvation. His living was acceptable to God. Abel was then martyred by Cain, the one who lived according to God's commandment.

After the murder took place, God asked Cain, “Where is your brother?” Cain answered with a famous line, “Am I my brother's keeper?” (Gen. 4:9). God responded, “What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying out to Me from the ground” (v. 10). God then strengthened the curse on the ground, and told Cain that he would be a “fugitive and a wanderer on the earth” (v. 10-12). Cain was afraid, and said, “Whoever finds me will kill me” (v. 14). God put a mark on Cain for his protection so that any person who saw him would not kill him. Then God sent Cain away from His presence (v. 15-16).

After Abel was murdered and Cain was sent away, Adam and Even begot another son. “And Adam knew his wife again; and she gave birth to a son, and called his name Seth; for, she said, God has appointed me another seed instead of Abel, because Cain slew him” (Gen. 4:25). The name “Seth” means “appointed.” After Cain slew Abel God appointed another one in his place. The death of Abel was necessary for the appointment of Seth. Abel and Seth should be seen as two halves of one person. The first half of this person is Abel, who was martyred by Cain. The second half of this person is Seth, who was appointed to carry out God's purpose. Seth represents Abel's continuation. Even though Abel was dead, Abel's line - the line of life - was continued by Seth and his descendants. From this point on the Bible records two genealogies representing the two manners of life: the line of Cain, and the line of Seth.

We must see that on this earth, even today, there are still two manners of life. The first manner of life comes from Cain. Cain and his descendants produced human culture in its entirety. Eventually out of the line of Cain, out of Cain's descendants, came agriculture, music, and weaponry (Gen. 4:19-22). Agriculture is related to making a living, music is related to entertainment, and weaponry is related to self-defense. Everything on this earth belongs to one of these three categories. The manner of life represented by Cain has saturated human civilization. When we examine the two manners of life we will notice something very crucial: the first line is manifested, while the second line is hidden. The line of Cain is very manifested. Making a living is manifested, entertainment is manifested, and self-defense is manifested. But the line of Abel and Seth is hidden. This hidden line is a line of revelation.

We need to pray to the Lord, “Lord, I realize that on this earth there are two manners of life. I want to be in the line of Abel and Seth. I want to live in the line of life according to revelation.” Do we really see the difference between living according to logic and living according to revelation? For instance, the Bible says that we should love the Lord with all our heart, all our soul, all our might, and all our strength. This is a commandment. Yet our interpretation of this commandment may be very peculiar. We may think, “This means that I need to make all the church meetings.” On one hand this is very good, but is it enough? The answer is no, it is not enough, because such a thought can still be somewhat from Cain's line. We may do things which are appropriate according to God's commandment, yet we may not be satisfying God Himself. God is only satisfied when our living is according to the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Our life must be based on revelation. Someone who does not live by revelation cannot please God in full. When we do things according to our logic or our culture we are living in the line of knowledge. But when we do things according to revelation we are living in the proper line, the line of life. Whatever comes from the line of knowledge God will reject, and whatever comes from the line of life God will accept. There is no third line or “middle ground.” We should realize that the line of knowledge, the line of Cain, is not limited to those things which are evil and corrupt. Cain slew Abel because God was not pleased with Cain's offering. Cain did not begin with murder in his heart. He began by doing exactly what God told him to do, but not according to revelation. This is a sober matter. We must be different from Cain. We must desire before the Lord to live in the line of life and revelation. We must experience a living Christ to keep us in the proper line of human existence.