But note this well. Cain is the first man who was ever born. He is the archetype for all men who want to dwell in the City of Man. The first man ever born of woman was the man who rose up and killed his brother. He is the pattern of worldliness. And why did he kill him? Because Abel was righteous, and Cain was unrighteous, and this meant that Abel was going to win every competition unless Cain cheated. And this is what all church conflicts are — the result of attempts to usurp and cheat. God’s world will be run God’s way, in accordance with God’s Word. But sinful and envious men are constantly at war with the inexorable law of God’s blessing.
Douglas Wilson