Two Manners of Life

In this brief study of Genesis 4 and 5, Titus Chu draws a number of lessons for our Christian life from the lives of the men and the events depicted in these chapters.


In the first three chapters of Genesis, we see the story of creation, the first days of Adam and Eve, the fall, and God’s promise of redemption. These are very important and well-know events in the Bible. Following this, the next two chapters show us the story of Adam and Eve’s descendants until the time of Noah. While this section of Genesis is not so familiar as Genesis 1-3, it is also quite crucial, for it shows us the origins and early development of the human race as it exists today.




From Chapter One


The Bible shows us from the very beginning that we can choose from only two possible manners of life. These are portrayed by two trees in the Garden of Eden and then by two lines of descendants from Adam and Eve. In the midst of the Garden of Eden there were two trees: the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:9). 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. These two sons and those who came after them portray two different manners of life corresponding to the two trees: 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.



We may think that there are many different ways we can live on this earth. For example, we can become doctors, nurses, engineers, plumbers, teachers, or any number of things. We may think we have many options, but in the sight of God we can only belong to one of two lines. Either we are in the line of life, or we are in the line of the knowledge of good and evil. We can choose from only these two possible manners of life.


Table of Contents


1. The Origin of the Two Manners of Life


2. Cain and Abel: Acquisition and Vanity


3. Cain and His Descendants


4. A New Beginning


5. Mortality Leading to Possession


6. Praising and Descending


7. Learning and Walking with God


8. Seven Stages of Spiritual Learning


Works Cited