Paul's thankfulness for his readers' faith in Jesus
First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. 9 God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you 10 in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you.
We have noted the standard form Paul uses to open his letters. Another feature that is standard with Paul’s letters is the “laudatory” sentence he includes as the second paragraph of virtually every letter. In that sentence Paul regularly commends the faith and spiritual growth of his readers. (For examples of laudatory sentences in other letters of Paul, see 1 Corinthians 1:4; Ephesians 1:3; Philippians 1:3; 1 Thessalonians 1:2; 2 Thessalonians 1:3.)
Here Paul thanks God for the growth and maturity in faith that have become evident in the lives of the Roman Christians. In fact, so prominent is their faith that Paul can say it is “being reported all over the world.” With this hyperbole, or intentional overstatement, Paul calls attention to the significant growth in the Romans’ faith-life, and thanks God for them, as he does regularly. Paul asserts that he “constantly” remembers them in his prayer “at all times.”
What catches our attention, however, is the strength of Paul’s assertion. He calls on God as a witness to the fact that he has thought of the Romans regularly. Also of note is the careful wording he uses when he says, “and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you.”
Recall that this letter is being written from Corinth. As Paul indicates in his second epistle to the Corinthians, written shortly before this letter to the Romans, it had been necessary for him to clear up a major misunderstanding with the Corinthians. A change in Paul’s travel plans had resulted in his not coming to them as early or as often as they were expecting—and the Corinthians took offense at this! Paul doesn’t want to let a similar misunderstanding arise in his dealings with the Romans. That he has not yet come to visit them is not because of a lack of interest on his part. Under oath Paul assures them that he remembers them constantly and prays that “now at last by God’s will the way may be opened” for him to come to them. Paul will return to this thought shortly (1:13), but first he explains his reasons for wanting to come to them.