Having been driven from the garden of Eden, Adam and Eve now commence their mortal probation. The intimacy they once enjoyed with God is now lost to them; they have left “father and mother” and are now to “cleave” unto each other (see Genesis 2:24).
They face the surety of death and the struggle to overcome the temptations of the flesh, that they might be worthy of the directions of the Spirit. In temporal death their spirits and bodies will separate, the body returning to the dust whence it was taken and the spirit being consigned to the world of disembodied souls. Spiritual death is their separation from the divine presence, alienation from the author of righteousness.