The Greek verb antistrateuomai means to wage war against, to campaign in opposition. Appearing only once in the New Testament (Romans 7:23), it describes the internal warfare Paul experiences between the law of his mind (which delights in God's law) and the law of sin at work in his members.
Antistrateuomai — compounded from anti (against) + strateuomai (to serve as a soldier, to campaign) — employs the full force of military metaphor for the spiritual conflict within the believer. Romans 7:23 is the climax of Paul's agonized autobiography: 'But I see another law at work in me, waging war (antistrateuomenon) against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.' The verse captures the experience of someone who loves God's law but finds another principle fighting against that love — the relentless pull of sinful flesh. This internal campaign leads to the famous cry of verse 24: 'What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?' And immediately: 'Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!' The theological arc of Romans 7–8 moves from the experience of antistrateuomai to the victory of the Spirit (Romans 8:2).