497. antistrateuomai

Lexical Summary

antistrateuomai: To wage war against, to oppose in battle

Original Word: ἀντιστρατεύομαι
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: antistrateuomai
Pronunciation: an-tee-strat-yoo'-om-ahee
Phonetic Spelling: (an-tee-strat-yoo'-om-ahee)
KJV: war against
NASB: waging war against
Word Origin: [from G473 (ἀντί - instead) and G4754 (στρατεύομαι - wage war)]

1. (figuratively) to attack
2. (by implication) destroy

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

war against.

From anti and strateuomai; (figuratively) to attack, i.e. (by implication) destroy -- war against.

see GREEK anti

see GREEK strateuomai

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
from anti and strateuó
Definition
to make war against
NASB Translation
waging war against (1).

Thayer's Greek Lexicon

STRONGS NT 497: ἀντιστρατεύομαι

ἀντιστρατεύομαι;

1. to make a military expedition, or take the field, against anyone: Xenophon, Cyril 8, 8, 26.

2. to oppose, war against: τίνι, Romans 7:23. (Aristaenet. 2, 1, 13.)

Topical Lexicon

Immediate Scriptural Context

Romans 7:23 locates the participle ἀντιστρατευόμενον within Paul’s extended meditation on the believer’s struggle with indwelling sin. The verse reads, “but I see another law in my body, waging war against the law of my mind and holding me captive to the law of sin that dwells within me” (Romans 7:23). The imagery is military: an ongoing campaign conducted by an internal enemy.

Pauline Anthropology and the Inner Conflict

1. Dual Laws. Paul contrasts “the law of my mind” (the renewed, regenerate will) with “the law in my body” (the residual power of sin). ἀντιστρατευόμενον portrays sin not as a passive remnant but as an active insurgency.
2. Not Two Selves but One Battleground. The apostle never suggests a Gnostic opposition between body and spirit. Instead, the whole person is simultaneously justified in Christ and yet assaulted by sin’s guerilla tactics (Romans 6:6–14; Galatians 5:17).
3. Already–Not Yet. The war imagery underscores the tension between inaugurated victory (Romans 6:11) and future consummation (Romans 8:23). The believer fights from assurance of final triumph, not toward uncertainty.

Old Testament Background

While antistrateuomai appears only once in the Greek New Testament, the motif of an internal or external enemy pervades Scripture:
• Genesis 4:7 depicts sin crouching like a predator.
• Psalm 51:5 acknowledges congenital sinfulness.
• Proverbs 25:28 warns of a city without walls, a vivid prefigurement of unchecked inward passions.

These texts set the conceptual stage for Paul’s martial metaphor.

Historical Reception in the Church

1. Early Fathers. Chrysostom saw in Romans 7:23 the proof that baptism does not eradicate the fleshly inclination but equips the believer for combat.
2. Reformers. Calvin emphasized that ἀντιστρατευόμενον affirms the continuing presence of sin but denies its dominion; Christ’s lordship assures victory.
3. Puritans. John Owen’s “mortification of sin” derives explicitly from this verse, urging believers to “keep the enemy in the field.”

Implications for Sanctification

• Vigilance. Warfare language demands watchfulness (1 Peter 5:8).
• Armed with the Word. Ephesians 6:17 links the “sword of the Spirit” with active resistance; the war is won by truth applied.
• Dependence on the Spirit. Romans 8:13 clarifies that victory comes “by the Spirit,” not by ascetic effort.
• Corporate Dimension. Mutual exhortation (Hebrews 3:13) is strategic; isolated soldiers falter.

Pastoral and Ministerial Applications

• Counseling. Believers who experience intense temptation are reassured: the presence of conflict validates regeneration rather than disproving it.
• Preaching. Texts on victory must be balanced with Romans 7:23 to avoid triumphalism.
• Discipleship. Encourage realistic self-assessment and concrete battle plans—Scripture memory, accountability, prayer.
• Spiritual Formation. Liturgies of confession keep the church alert to the ongoing war within.

Contrast with External Spiritual Warfare

2 Corinthians 10:3–5 and Ephesians 6:12 address hostile powers outside the believer. Romans 7:23 emphasizes an enemy inside. Both fronts exist simultaneously, demanding holistic readiness.

Eschatological Resolution

Revelation 12:10–11 celebrates the ultimate defeat of Satan, while Romans 8:30 assures glorification. The present skirmish foreshadows a day when ἀντιστρατευόμενον will cease; no residual sin will remain to mount its rebellion.

Related Terms and Concepts

• Flesh (σάρξ) – the sphere in which the war is fought.
• Mind (νοῦς) – the regenerate faculty under grace.
• Law (νόμος) – variously the Mosaic code, moral principle, or operative power depending on context.
• Mortification – the Spirit-empowered putting to death of hostile desires (Colossians 3:5).

Conclusion

Strong’s Greek 497 frames the believer’s sanctification as a relentless but winnable campaign. Romans 7:23 shapes Christian self-understanding: redeemed yet contested, liberated yet embattled, confident that “thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:25).

Forms and Transliterations

αντιστρατευομενον αντιστρατευόμενον ἀντιστρατευόμενον antistrateuomenon antistrateuómenon

Englishman's Concordance

Romans 7:23 V-PPM/P-AMS
GRK: μέλεσίν μου ἀντιστρατευόμενον τῷ νόμῳ
NAS: in the members of my body, waging war against the law
KJV: members, warring against the law
INT: members of me warring against the law

Strong's Greek 497
1 Occurrence

ἀντιστρατευόμενον — 1 Occ.