Having introduced himself, Paul now greets his hearers and does the groundwork before embarking on his exposition of the gospel.
Thankfulness is a feature of Paul's letters, he always thanks God for his readers. He thanks God through Christ. Christ is the only reason that we can thank God or give anything to Him. We come to God through Christ. Paul had not had personal dealings with the church in Rome at this point, unlike other places such as Ephesus and Corinth, but he had heard of their faith. Faith is not just an intellectual assent, nor an emotional response, it affects our whole life, and this effect in the Romans Christians was being reported elsewhere.
Paul's whole life was devoted to serving God. He did this "in his spirit". When we are saved we are made spiritually alive. The man without Christ is a man whose whole direction in life is dictated by circumstances, by the flesh. The man in Christ is a man whose life is energised and directed by the Spirit, and whose own spirit is now alive to the Holy Spirit. Our lives receive their energy and their direction from God. Serving God is not a matter of serving in our own strength, but living by the Spirit. This will involve us committing great energy and effort to God's work, but the source of all this is the Spirit. We need to learn to live by our spirit listening to and following the Spirit.
This service showed itself most supremely in Paul's preaching of the gospel. This was what God had called Paul to, and what he devoted his life to doing.
Paul prayed for the Roman Christians. Prayer was a major aspect of Paul's life, and is a key reason for his success and effectiveness. We need to pray more.
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