Romans 1:9 (DBY)

Passage

For God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit in the glad tidings of his Son, how unceasingly I make mention of you,

Nearby Context

Romans 1:7 to all that are in Rome, beloved of God, called saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and [our] Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 1:8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is proclaimed in the whole world.

Romans 1:9 For God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit in the glad tidings of his Son, how unceasingly I make mention of you,

Romans 1:10 always beseeching at my prayers, if any way now at least I may be prospered by the will of God to come to you.

Romans 1:11 For I greatly desire to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to establish you;

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "Spirit", "witness", "serve", "glad", "tidings", "unceasingly", "make", and "mention". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "Spirit" and "witness", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 8's "First I thank my God through Jesus..." into verse 10's "always beseeching at my prayers if any...", so "Spirit" and "witness" belong inside that flow. In Romans context, the local focus is righteousness by faith, union with Christ, life in the Spirit, and God's covenant faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "Spirit" and "witness" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.