The word “choose” means to “sort out and take.” In the Bible, this choice is the domain of God's absolute sovereignty. Sinful human beings have no ability to choose. Only the living God can choose. So John 15:16 says, "You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you and built you." In short, it is the truth of Scripture that choice is given from God in His sovereign power and absolute free will, regardless of any good works or merits of men.
God chooses us from the "beginning of the world" (Ephesians 1: 4). Before making the universe, God has already seen and chosen us. When Abraham, ancestor of faith, gave tithes to Melchizedek, Levi was a grandson who was not born yet. Nevertheless, because Abraham paid tithing, it is said that Levi in his loins had also paid tithing (Hebrews 7: 9-10). As such, God has allowed us such blessings before we are born.
God said to Jeremiah the prophet, "Before I set you in the midst, I knew you, and before you came out of the womb, I distinguished you, and I have made you a prophet of nations" (Jeremiah 1:5).
The precious people of God whom God chose so long ago are those who receive the blessings of salvation to enter the kingdom of heaven. 2 Timothy 4:18 says, "The Lord will deliver me out of all evil, and will save me into his kingdom?" Galatians 1:15 says, "He who cleansed me from the womb of my mother and called me by grace." It is a true state of the Lord's children to realize the grace and love of God who has chosen me prior to the creation of the world, and to pay our devotion and loyalty to the Lord.
Excerpt from the sermon of Rev. Abraham Park
