Romans 1:9-16
 
Rom 1:9 (KJV)
For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;

Paul testifies to the fact that he constantly and unceasingly prays for the believers in the Roman church. Notice how Paul states that he serves Christ in the spirit. This is because we are saved in the spirit and not in body. We cannot serve God in the flesh as so many religious unbelievers try to do. (Prov 21:27 KJV) The sacrifice of the wicked is abomination: how much more, when he bringeth it with a wicked mind? The only way we can serve God in the flesh is when the flesh is dominated by the spirit. (Romans 6:11-12; 8:1) This is why upon death the spirit is separated from the body.

 
Rom 1:10 (KJV)
Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you.

Making Request = ”Beseeching or begging”
Prosperous = “Gain or success” - “I shall be prospered” future tense

Paul’s inward desire was to come to Rome and be with the Christians. He was desiring to be prospered by them and not in the sense of money but in the arena of spiritual treasure (2 Cor 4:7 KJV) But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. When true believers gather there is always a spiritual prospering. We equate the Apostle Paul as being a spiritual giant, yet his life was ordered by the will of God. (Acts 16:6 KJV) Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, - So goes the free will assumption of preaching the gospel to every single person so they can have the ability to accept or reject.)

 
Rom 1:11 (KJV)
For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established;

Impart = Share or bestow
May be established = Confirmed, strengthen or set firmly

Paul earnestly desired to see the Roman brethren so he may impart to them a spiritual gift. Now the Bible expressly teaches that the Holy Spirit doles out the spiritual gifts to believers (1 Cor. 12:11) but that is not what is in view here. The spiritual gift here is the impartation of the blessings of fellowship in that when true believers get together there is a mutual confirmation and strengthening in the faith. Here the apostle Paul who was strong in the faith would help strengthen the weaker and newer brethren. This is the principle which carries over to today, that the stronger brethren are to strengthen the weak. (Rom 14:1 KJV) Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.
 

Rom 1:12 (KJV)
That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.

Not only does the stronger Christian help the weaker ones but the stronger Christian also gains a blessing being with new hungry Christians. Their thirst for God is not quenched until they go into the organized church and then their fire is drowned by lazy Christians. Basically the meeting of the Roman Christians would be advantageous for Paul so he may detect any false teachings being spread around in the church. (1 John 1:7 KJV) But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
This would also insure that their spiritual growth would not be hindered.
 

Rom 1:13 (KJV)
Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles.

Paul wants to assure the Roman church that he wanted to come to them sooner but God’s will overrode his will. The fruit he is looking for is the fruit of the Christian walk in these believers such as evangelism, edifying the saints and other necessary works for the Kingdom of God. Paul was hoping to help this church organize and reach out as he helped the other churches he planted. This was so they could begin to bear fruit themselves. (Mat 9:37-38 KJV) Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; {38} Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.
 

Rom 1:14 (KJV)
I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.

Debtor - Held by a duty or obligation
Barbarian - Unintelligible sounds or Foreigner
Wise and Unwise - To both learned and unlearned

Paul lays down a fundamental principle concerning his assessment of his Christianity. Paul realizes that salvation is not a sit, sour, and soak condition rather we are commanded to send forth the gospel and Paul views this as his debt to the world. (1 Cor 9:16 KJV) For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel! This is evident by the Bible using the term Barbarian which means a foreigner or one who did not speak the Greek language. This is a missionary verse in the fullest sense. We also see the terms wise and unwise in this verse. These terms are best defined by their specific usage in the statement. In 1 Corinthians 3 & 4 we read the term “wise” being descriptive of both the unbeliever and believer. In the Romans passage, they are used to describe both those who are learned and unlearned. Paul did not just feel obligated to those who have education but to those who did not, since Christianity is not an education based faith, it is a spiritual faith whereby understanding is given by the Holy Spirit and not books.

 
Rom 1:15 (KJV)
So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.

As much as in me is - Literally “according to me”
Ready - Willing and eager
Preach the Gospel - Announce the good news

Paul was in a state of readiness to preach the gospel to the Roman Christians. Here was the essence of the spiritual gift that Paul wanted to impart to the Romans in verse 11. He is assuring the Roman believers that his heart was with them. The true heart of the Christian is the desire to proclaim the gospel to whomever God send them to. Paul was also informing them that he would preach only to the extent his physical body was able to. He could be taken by the authorities or killed by his enemies, yet he was willing to come to them and preach to them. If one has a physical body that is not equal in strength to another’s, but they are doing all they can “according to” their strength, then they are fulfilling their part in the great commission.

 
Rom 1:16 (KJV)
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

“of Christ” - Is removed in the modern versions
Ashamed - Feel shame or be ashamed for
Power - Dunamis - Have power or capacity to do, the ability to do anything
First - First or before

Here Paul tells us that he was not ashamed to preach the gospel. Maybe some in the Roman church thought Paul wouldn’t come because he may have been somewhat ashamed of the gospel since they may have thought he abandoned the law. We as believers must never be ashamed of the gospel since it is our salvation. We must be very careful not to equate a person’s inability or shyness in the area of gospel presentation as being ashamed of the gospel. There is a vast difference.

The gospel is the power of God which has the full capability to save a person without the keeping of the ceremonial law. When we read “to the Jew first” it does not mean that they are to be witnessed to before a Gentile it means that the Jews were the first to receive the gospel since evangelism began in Jerusalem. There are some who use this verse to try and create a preeminence of the Jews in the church, especially those Jews who have become saved. They stand on the same ground as everyone else and they are not special cases.
 
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