proof of the riches of his grace. The word πλοῦτος riches in such connections is a favorite one with the apostle, who speaks of the riches of glory, the riches of wisdom, and the exceeding riches of grace. It is the overflowing abundance of unmerited love, inexhaustible in God and freely accessible through Christ. There is, therefore, nothing incompatible be- tween redemption, i. e. deliverance on the ground of a ransom (or a complete satisfaction to justice), and grace. The grace consists—1. In providing this satisfaction and in accepting it in behalf of sinners. 2. In accept- ing those who are entirely destitute of merit. 3. In bestowing this redemption and all its benefits without regard to the comparative goodness of men. It is not because one is wiser, better, or more noble than others, that he is made a partaker of this grace; but God chooses the foolish, the ignorant, and those who are of no account, that they who glory may glory only in the Lord.
V. 8. Wherein he hath abounded towards us, ἧς ἐπερίσσευσεν εἰς ἡμᾶς. As the word περισσεύω is both ᾿ transitive and intransitive, the clause may be rendered as above, ἧς being for 73; or, which he has caused to abound towards us, ἧς being for ἥν. The sense is the same; but as the attraction of the dative is very rare, the latter explanation is to be preferred. We are re- deemed according to the riches of that grace, which God has so freely exercised towards us.
In all wisdom and prudence, ἐν πάσῃ σοφίᾳ καὶ φρονήσει. These words admit of a threefold connection