Albert Barnes Commentary Ephesians 1:17

"that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him;" — Ephesians 1:17 (ASV)

That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ. The God who has sent the Lord Jesus into the world and appointed Him as the Mediator between Himself and man. The particular reason Paul speaks of Him here as "the God of the Lord Jesus" is that he prays that they might be further acquainted with the Redeemer and be enlightened regarding the great work He came to do.

The Father of glory. The glorious Father, that is, the Father who is worthy to be praised and honored.

May give unto you the spirit of wisdom. May make you wise to understand the great doctrines of the religion of the Redeemer.

And revelation. That is, revealing to you more and more of the character of the Redeemer, and of the nature and results of His work. It is probable here that by the word "Spirit" the apostle refers to the Holy Spirit as the Author of all wisdom, and the Revealer of all truth. His prayer is, that God would grant to them the Holy Spirit to make them wise, and to reveal His will to them.

In the knowledge of him. Margin, for the acknowledgment. That is, so that you may more fully acknowledge Him, or know Him more intimately and thoroughly. They had already made high attainments (Ephesians 1:15), but Paul felt that they could advance even further; and the idea here is that however far Christians may have advanced in knowledge and in love, there is an unfathomed depth of knowledge which they may still explore, and which they should be exhorted still to attempt to fathom. How far was Paul from supposing that the Ephesians had attained perfection!