How do we know that spiritual death is not applicable to Adam?
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Spiritual death cannot apply to Adam because he had no prior spiritual life to lose; his life was natural.
The assertion that Adam experienced spiritual death is challenged by the understanding that, in order for spiritual death to prevail, there must first be a spiritual life that is forfeited. Adam was created as a natural being and lived without possessing spiritual life in the way that is communicated through theological narratives. Consequently, when asked about spiritual death, J.F. Johnson argues that it is an incorrect application of the term. He highlights scriptures like Ephesians 2:1, which describes people as 'dead in trespasses and sins' implying that spiritual death only postdates the loss of a spiritual state—a state that Adam never had.
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