We have seen in the first message that God portrayed two manners of life in His creation. These two manners of life were typified by the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden of Eden. People have sometimes thought that the second tree is only a tree of “evil.” Actually this tree is a tree of knowledge which includes both good and evil. It is a tree of logic. This logic tells us what is good and what is evil. Life is one line, and knowledge or logic is another line. There are only two trees, two lines for us to live by. We will either live according to life or we will live according to knowledge, according to our understanding of what is good and what is evil. Whenever we do not live in the line of life, our living will automatically be decided by our logic. Everyone lives according to some form of logic. Our logic may come from our culture, from the teachings of our parents, or even from the Bible itself. When we live according to what is good and what is evil we are living by our logic. This is different from living according to the line of life.

Since the beginning of human history man has continuously been falling into the line of the knowledge of good and evil. In the midst of that history God has kept calling some men out of the line of knowledge and into the line of life. When Adam fell by eating from the tree of knowledge, all of mankind was brought to that line. But out of Adam's descendants the Lord desired to regain what He had lost. God desired to bring man back to the tree of life. Out of Adam's first two descendants there were two lines, the line of Cain and the line of Abel. Cain was on the line of knowledge and Abel was on the line of life. After Cain killed Abel, Adam had another son named Seth. Seth was actually the continuation of Abel's line, the line of life.

The descendants of Cain and the descendants of Seth are on these two separate lines. The lineage from Seth to Noah, which we will study name by name in these messages, is a lineage according to the line of life. After the time of Noah man continued to fall even lower. Eventually God called out Abraham. Out of Abraham's descendants, again, there were two lines. One line was Ishmael, and the other line was Isaac. Isaac was on the line of life. Ishmael and Isaac constantly struggled against one another. Then from Isaac there were two lines. One line was Esau, and the other was Jacob. Jacob was on the line of life. These two brothers also struggled against each other. The entire history of the human race is a history of struggling between the two lines. Mankind is always struggling, because God has placed two lines on the earth. Every human being must choose between these two lines.

We must ask ourselves, “Am I in the line of life, or am I in the line of the knowledge of good and evil?” If we are in the line of life, then we are living according to what God desires. If we are in the line of knowledge and are therefore living according to our logic, even our good logic, then we are living in the improper line which is rejected by God.

In human history, the line of knowledge and the line of life begin with Cain and Abel. The name “Cain” means “gain.” After the fall of man God promised that the seed of the woman would bruise Satan's head (Gen. 3:15). When Adam and Eve begot Cain, they remembered God's promise. They probably thought that this son was the promised seed who would bruise the serpent's head. Adam and Eve were hoping for the fulfillment of God's promise. They must have hated that serpent even far beyond our understanding. After the fall of men the physical world had drastically changed. Formerly the sun was pleasant, but now the sun caused man to sweat. Formerly no animal was harmful, but now animals that were once friendly had become dangerous. Adam and Eve experienced many drastic changes, and they knew that it was all because of the serpent's temptation. But God had said that the seed of the woman would bruise the serpent's head. When Adam and Eve finally had a son, they called his name “Cain,” which means “gain.” This name indicates that they believed Cain was the answer to God's promise.

Adam and Eve must have been joyful. They thought, “This son is going to bruise the serpent's head!” They may even have hoped that after the head of the serpent was bruised, everything on earth would be restored back to the beginning. Man would no longer need to work so hard and sweat for food. The curse would be over, and things would be just as they were before the fall. They surely waited for Cain to grow up so that God's promise could be fulfilled. But the more Cain grew up, the more they realized that Cain was nothing special. Cain must have been a real disappointment. Adam and Eve realized that Cain could not possibly be the one to bruise the serpent's head.

When Adam and Eve's second son was born, they named him “Abel.” “Abel” means “vanity.” To name their second son “Abel” was to say, “It's all vanity. This son won't work either. God will never crush the serpent's head and restore the earth to what it was before by using either of these two boys. It is all hopeless.” If neither of their sons would be the one to bruise the serpent's head, then what had happened to God's promise? What had happened to their hope of seeing creation restored to its former beautiful and restful condition? Such a beautiful creation of God was ruined by eating one small fruit from the wrong tree. Adam and Eve longed to go back to what they once had in the beginning. But the first son didn't work, so by the time the second son was born they realized the whole situation was hopeless. They also knew that man's existence after the fall was meaningless. After the disappointment of Cain, Adam and Eve knew that human life was emptiness and vanity. This is why they named their second son “Abel.”

The birth of Cain was with excitement and expectation. The birth of Abel was with disappointment and futility. Cain signifies, “I got it!” Abel signifies, “It's all useless!” These two names are very meaningful. Cain and Abel, “gain” and “vanity,” represent the two manners of life. They are the beginning of the two lines, the line of knowledge and the line of life, in human history. Cain's line begins with assurance. Abel's line begins with emptiness. The line of knowledge begins with “I got it.” The line of life begins with “I don't have it.” The two manners of life are characterized by these two names.

As they were growing up, Cain and Abel must have heard the story of the fall of man from their father. We saw that in the previous message, Adam probably explained to them how he and their mother had eaten the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He then told them that after the fall, God Himself said that man should labor and sweat to harvest the land and grow something to eat. Formerly the food was available for them already, but now they had to harvest the land for food. Perhaps Abel asked his father, “Why then do you wear these clothes?” Adam would have answered, “This is what God prepared for us.” Both Cain and Abel heard this story from their parents, and they both had an understanding according to their father's speaking. Cain's understanding was, “God said we should labor on the land, so I will be a farmer. I must live according to God's commandment.” Abel's understanding was, “God prepared a sacrifice to cover us, so I will be a shepherd.” Abel may have realized, “When my parents used leaves to cover themselves, God was not satisfied. They hid and did not dare approach Him. When God said, `Man, where are you?' they were afraid of Him. It was not until God slaughtered some sheep and made the skin into clothes for them that my parents were no longer afraid. God was satisfied with the covering of animal skin. This means that I can come to God only through the sacrifice that God has prepared for me.” Cain had a logical understanding: “I must live according to God's commandment.” But Abel had a revelation: “I must live according to God's provision for my salvation.”

The lives of both Cain and Abel were regulated by their two different understandings. Cain was regulated by God's commandment, while Abel was regulated by his revelation of God's provision. The significant difference between them was that Cain could see the fruit of his labor, but Abel's life could only cause him to be ashamed. Abel's life didn't produce anything. He could not see any fruit from his life or his labor. Abel was a man living off of his brother. At this point in human history people were not yet eating meat. Abel could not even live off his shepherding. He could only survive by living off what his brother Cain labored to produce in the field. Cain had to produce something to support Abel. Cain's life was one of outward success and productivity. With Abel's life, however, there was no glory.

With almost everything we do in our human life there is “fruit.” There is something visible produced from our labor. If we enjoy reading novels, we can work hard and eventually become a writer. If we enjoy music, then by practice we can become a musician. If we love something enough and work hard at it, then eventually we will have something to show for it. If we invest ourselves, we will have something to display. But when we love the Lord there is nothing to show for it. Loving the Lord is unique in this respect. When we love the Lord, there is no “trophy.” There is nothing outwardly visible that we gain. If we want to follow the Lord, then from the beginning we should be very clear about this. We must realize, “If I'm going to follow the Lord, then I will have nothing outward to show for it. No one will understand me or appreciate me. My life will just become a topic for others to talk about. Everyone else may have something to show for how they live, but my life will be different. I will live according to revelation.”

This was the life of Abel, and this is why Abel's name means “vanity.” Abel's life was a life of revelation. It was not a life of outward success. When we see a revelation of Christ, we must realize that our whole life will never be appreciated by anyone. Other people will feel that that our life is void of meaning. Abel's life was empty. His life was “vanity.” If we are in the line of Abel, we will also have Abel's realization: “My life, my name, is `vanity.' I only desire God. I have nothing else but God Himself. My name is not Cain, because I have nothing to gain. Cain can get something for himself, but I cannot. My name is Abel. My life is just empty. When people look at my life they will think that my existence is meaningless. This is because, apart from God, I have nothing.”

How do we see this vision and live in the line of Abel? The key is our human spirit. Whenever we touch our spirit, the vision of the Lord is there. A person in spirit is a person with vision. When we touch our spirit we see something, just as Abel saw something from the sharing of his father. We may wonder about our future. On Abel's line, we have no future. If we realize that our name is “vanity,” then that means we have nothing more to gain on this earth. Our life will only be for Jesus Christ. He is all that we desire. If we live by this realization then the Lord will have a way with us. Our life will be regulated by our vision of the Lord and His salvation.

Abel saw a vision concerning God's provision, and then he lived his life according to that vision. His life was regulated, but it was not understood by anyone. Why did Abel have to live such a life? Why did he have to depend upon his brother Cain for food? Why couldn't Abel labor in the field and support himself? Because Abel knew that without the shedding of blood, signifying a Savior who would die for him, he could not see the face of God. This is why Abel needed to offer sheep from the flock. Why did God love Abel's offering and reject Cain's offering? Because Abel's offering typifies the offering up of Christ. Abel's offering testifies: “I know I need a Savior. I know someone will have to die for me that I may still come to God's presence. When I offer the firstborn of my sheep to God, I am telling Him that my life on this earth is under someone's salvation.” Abel never knew the Lord Jesus directly. He never knew what would happen in the future. But he did realize that only by the shedding of blood could he still come forward to God. This was God's provision for his salvation.

The life of Cain was defined by keeping God's commandment. Cain's thought was, “I can do something to make God happy. I will do what God tells me to do.” That is why God didn't even look at Cain's offering. The result of Cain's living according to God's commandment was that he eventually murdered his brother. Cain slaughtered Abel in the very same field where he labored on the land in obedience to God's commandment. It is even possible that Cain murdered his brother with the tool he used to dig the earth. Why did Cain become so angry? It was not merely because Abel's offering was acceptable to God while Cain's offering was rejected. Cain was angry because Abel depended on him for something to eat. Abel lived off of his brother. Cain may have wanted Abel to be a farmer himself and work for his own food. However, if Abel had become a farmer he would have lost his stand. Abel's stand was to live his life based only on the salvation God had prepared for him. Even if Abel were desperate he would not depart from what God had ordained for his salvation. Abel lived off of Cain's labor, but Abel's offering was accepted and Cain's was rejected. This is the reason that Cain was angry enough to kill Abel.

After Abel was murdered, God gave Adam and Eve another son. They named him “Seth.” As we have seen previously, the name “Seth” means “appointed.” After Abel's death God appointed someone else to carry out His purpose. We must see that without the death of Abel there could not be the appointing of Seth. Seth was the continuation of Abel. Abel and Seth are as one person in the line of life. However, there is a process involved. Abel lived a regulated life based on a firm stand. That stand was according to a vision of the sacrifice and salvation that God had prepared for him. Abel's life, a life of vanity, ended in his premature death. But after Abel's death God brought him into “resurrection.” Abel became Seth, the appointed one. After the death of Abel, in the principle of resurrection, Seth was appointed to carry out God's purpose.

To follow the Lord we need to have this understanding. We can never get away from these principles. We must avoid the line of Cain, which is the line of knowledge. This means that we should not live by regulations or commands, and we should not live by our logical understanding. We must live in the line of Abel, the line of life and revelation. We should tell the Lord, “Lord, my existence on this earth is vanity and emptiness. There is nothing for me to gain here except for You. I must have You alone. You are my Savior. You are my salvation. I want my life to be regulated according to the vision You have shown me. My life is not to be understood by men. My life is only to be appreciated by You.” What a consecration this is! The vision that we see leads to a regulated, disciplined life. A person who sees a vision lives according to that vision. Abel's living was regulated according to the vision of God's salvation. As a shepherd, his offering was a picture of Christ. It was a testimony of Abel's realization that he needed God's salvation. Eventually Abel's regulated living led to his physical death at the hand of his brother. But through his death Abel figuratively enjoyed and experienced resurrection. This resurrection was an “appointing,” as seen and embodied in Seth. This is the glorious result of Abel's regulated living according to his vision of God's salvation. This must become our experience on the line of life.