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Examined Doctrine

Tim Keller on Spiritual warfare

1950 – 2023 · PRESBYTERIAN (PCA)
READ IN A PRIMARY SOURCEAFFIRMS°
STANCE

Through the usual means of the Christian life: Scripture, prayer, faith and watchfulness, including asking God to deliver the afflicted

"Putting on the armor means taking the benefits of the gospel and beginning to use them in your life."
Sermon, "The Whole Armor of God", 19 January 1992, c. 25:29

THE POSITION

The armour of Ephesians 6 is the gospel applied: putting it on means taking the benefits of the gospel and using them in your life. Most satanic influence works through the imagination, in things like worry. The sermon read never mentions exorcism, deliverance or possession.

SCRIPTURE
EPHESIANS 6:10-18 · BSB

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore take up the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground, and having done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness arrayed, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness of the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 Pray in the Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer and petition. To this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers for all the saints.

11 OTHERS HOLD THIS

Jacobus ArminiusCalvinChrysostomSecond London Baptist ConfessionLutherJohn MacArthurJohn OwenCharles Haddon SpurgeonWesleyWestminster ConfessionGeorge Whitefield
Through those means, and also by commanding evil spirits to leave, or exorcising them, in Christ's nameAQUINAS · ATHANASIUS · AUGUSTINE · BILLY GRAHAM · IRENAEUS · GAVIN ORTLUND · JOHN PIPER
See all 24 figures on spiritual warfare →

ABOUT THIS FIGURE

Founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian, New York. Known for apologetics addressed to urban skeptics and for a notably winsome register.

1 OF 11 POSITIONS QUOTED
Everything Tim Keller holds →
Cite this page

"Tim Keller on Spiritual warfare", Examined Doctrine, July 2026 edition, https://examineddoctrine.com/position/keller/spiritual-warfare (archived at https://examineddoctrine.com/editions/2026-07/position/keller/spiritual-warfare).

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