ACC ~ Romans 1 v9

YOU WILL BE MY WITNESSES. ORIGEN: God is witness for his saints, because they also are witnesses for God according to the word of the prophet Isaiah: “You will be my witnesses and I am a witness, says the Lord.” The Savior also says to his disciples: “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in Samaria and even to the ends of the earth,” according to what is written: “Everyone who acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge before my Father.”

Let us consider what Paul means when he says: “Whom I serve with my spirit.” It seems to me that to serve in spirit is both similar to but also much more than worshiping in spirit, as the Lord said to the Samaritan woman.Paul does not merely worship in spirit—he serves in spirit as well. For it is possible to worship without commitment, but to serve requires personal involvement. Therefore the apostle serves, not in body nor in soul but in the best part of him, i.e., in spirit. … The apostle always prefers the spirit and rejects the flesh and the things of the flesh. Similarly he praises the spirit of the law itself and rejects the letter as if it were flesh: “The letter kills, but the spirit gives life.”

When Paul says that he prays without ceasing for those to whom he is writing, he is recalling his own instruction and practicing what he has preached. COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

SERVING IN SPIRIT. AMBROSIASTER: In order to encourage brotherly love, Paul gives God, whom he serves, as a witness, to whom he prays on their behalf, not in keeping the law but in the gospel of his Son, i.e., not in that which Moses the servant handed down but in that which the most beloved Son taught. For the servant is as far from his Lord as the gospel is from the law, not because the law is wrong but because the gospel is better. Therefore Paul serves God in the gospel of his Son in order to show that it is God’s will that men should believe in Christ.

“Whom I serve.” How? In my spirit, says Paul, not in the circumcision made with hands, nor in new moons, nor in the sabbath or the choice of foods, but in the spirit, that is, in the mind. Because God is a spirit, it is right that he should be served in spirit or in the mind, for whoever serves him in his mind serves him in faith. This is what the Lord said to the Samaritan woman in John…. He prays without ceasing for them, remembering them in his prayers in order to sow brotherly love among them; indeed, he makes this his desire for them. For who would not love someone when he hears that that person remembers him? For if they had willingly listened to the teaching brought to them in the name of Christ by those who were not sent, how much more would they want to listen to him who they knew was an apostle and whose words were accompanied by power! COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

SPIRITUAL WORSHIP. THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: Paul rightly says “with my spirit,” contrasting this with the carnal worship of the Jews in circumcision and sabbatarianism and other such sacrifices, none of which is either spiritual or true. Some have pointed out that the phrase is a simpler way of saying “with my mind and with my will.” PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

THE GOSPEL OF HIS SON. CHRYSOSTOM: Why does Paul call God as his witness? He had to declare to the Romans all his feelings toward them, but he had not yet seen any of them. So he called no human witness but God who enters the heart. For he was saying “I love you,” and as evidence of that he mentioned that he was constantly praying for them. This was not self-evident either, so he had recourse to the most trustworthy testimony. Can any of you boast that, when praying at home, he remembers the entire body of the church? I doubt it. But Paul drew near to God on behalf not of one city only but of the whole world, and this not once, twice or three times but continually.

When Paul says “whom I serve with my spirit in the Gospel of his Son,” he shows us both the grace of God and his own humility, the grace of God because he entrusted such a great task to Paul, and his own humility because Paul imputes it all not to his own zeal but to the help of the Spirit. The addition of “the gospel” shows what kind of ministry Paul had. For there are many different kinds of ministry … one man serves God and labors by believing and ordering his own life in the right way, another undertakes the care of strangers, and another takes care of those who are in need. Even in the apostle’s own time, Stephen’s colleagues served God by looking after widows, while others (including Paul) taught the Word and served in the preaching of the gospel. This was the kind of ministry to which he was appointed.

Having spoken above about the gospel of the Father, Paul here says that it is the gospel of the Son. It makes no difference to call it the gospel of the Father or of the Son! Paul had learned from that blessed voice that the things of the Father are the Son’s, and the things of the Son are the Father’s. For: “all mine are yours and yours are mine.”

Praying for them without ceasing is the role of genuine love. Although Paul here seems to be saying only one thing, in fact he is saying four different things. First, he is saying that he remembers; second, that he does so continually; third, that he remembers in his prayers; and fourth, that he remembers to ask great things for them. HOMILIES ON ROMANS 2.

UNCEASING PRAYER. PELAGIUS: Paul serves God with his whole heart and with a ready zeal. … He also presents a model of unceasing prayer. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

THE GRACE OF THE SPIRIT. GENNADIUS OF CONSTANTINOPLE: When Paul mentioned “his spirit,” he was not speaking about the person of the Spirit but about the grace of the Spirit which had been given to him to preach the gospel and by which, once he had been made worthy to be a coworker with God, he was enabled to carry out his work of mission. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

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