Charles Ellicott Commentary Ephesians 1:8

"which he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence," — Ephesians 1:8 (ASV)

Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence.—It should be, which He made to overflow to us in all wisdom and prudence.

The word “overflow” has an emphasis that our word “abound” has lost. It signifies here that the richness of God’s grace not only fills the soul with the blessing of salvation but also overflows into the additional gifts of “all wisdom and prudence” in us. These gifts are dwelled upon here in anticipation of the declaration in the next verse.

Of these two gifts, wisdom is clearly the higher gift, signifying (as in the Old Testament) the knowledge of the true end of life, which can only come from some knowledge of the “wisdom of God,” that is, the divine purpose of His dispensation. (See especially Proverbs 8:22-31.) Such knowledge is revealed to us through the “mind of Christ,” who is Himself the true wisdom or “Word of God.” (See 1 Corinthians 1:24; 1 Corinthians 1:30; 1 Corinthians 2:6–10; 1 Corinthians 2:16.)

Hence, wisdom is spoken of in connection with various other gifts, which are but partial manifestations of it. Here with “prudence,” that is, wisdom in action; in Colossians 1:9, with “intelligence,” that is, wisdom in judgment; in 1 Corinthians 12:8 and Colossians 2:3, with “knowledge,” that is, wisdom in perception; and in Ephesians 1:17 of this chapter, with “revelation,” the means by which wisdom is gained.