Ephesians 1:11-12 NIV‬
[11] “In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, [12] in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.”

God has written some things in His book that are incomprehensible or even distasteful to some people. For example, theologians have tried to argue away or justify the fact that God chooses people. “Since God knows everything,” they say, “He knew who woud believe in Jesus, so He chose them to be saved.”

However, such reasoning is one-sided and incomplete and does not therefore, fit in with Scripture. Instead, it compromises God’s absolute sovereignty and puts people’s freedom to choose as the reason behind God’s choosing. Humans try to explain away God’s apparent unfairness since they think that He is unfair if He arbitrarily chooses some and sends the rest to hell (so it seems)!

Is this true of the God of the Bible? Can we legitimately accuse Him of a travesty of justice like this? If so, then He is no longer God and we can no longer trust His love.

There must be a way to understand the issue of choice without putting God on trial.

First, we must understand the PURPOSE and MOTIVE of His choices. It is not primarily about destination – who goes to heaven and who goes to hell – but about the REASON for predestination.
So, for what purpose does God choose people?

Let’s allow the Apostle Paul to explain.

‭Romans 8:29 NIV‬
[29] “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”

Let got “questions.com” explain for us.

“The words translated “predestined” in the Scriptures referenced above are from the Greek word proorizo, which carries the meaning of “determining beforehand,” “ordaining,” “deciding ahead of time.” So, predestination is God determining certain things to occur ahead of time. What did God determine ahead of time? According to Romans 8:29-30, God predetermined that certain individuals would be conformed to the likeness of His Son, be called, justified, and glorified. Numerous scriptures refer to believers in Christ being chosen (Matthew 24:22, 31; Mark 13:20, 27; Romans 8:33, 9:11, 11:5-7, 28; Ephesians 1:11; Colossians 3:12; 1 Thessalonians 1:4; 1 Timothy 5:21; 2 Timothy 2:10; Titus 1:1; 1 Peter 1:1-2, 2:9; 2 Peter 1:10). Predestination is the biblical doctrine that God in His sovereignty chooses certain individuals to be saved.

“Predestination is an explicitly biblical doctrine. Yet the determination of predestination is not disconnected from the rest of God’s unchanging character (Malachi 3:6). It is connected to His foreknowledge (Romans 8:29, 11:2), His love (Ephesians 1:4-5), and His plan and pleasure (Ephesians 1:5). God’s desire is that all would be saved and come to repentance (1 Timothy 2:4, 2 Peter 3:9). Predestination is personal and relational, not capricious.

“The most common objection to the doctrine of predestination is that it is unfair. Why would God choose certain individuals and not others? We must remember that no one deserves to be saved. We have all sinned (Romans 3:23) and are all worthy of eternal punishment (Romans 6:23). As a result, God would be perfectly just in allowing all of us to spend eternity in hell. However, God chooses to save some of us. He is not being unfair to those who are not chosen, because they are receiving what they deserve. God’s choosing to be gracious to some is not unfair to the others. No one deserves anything from God; therefore, no one can object if he does not receive anything from God.

An illustration would be a man randomly handing out money to five people in a crowd of twenty. Would the fifteen people who did not receive money be upset? Probably so. Do they have a right to be upset? No, they do not. Why? Because the man did not owe anyone money. He simply decided to be gracious to some.

“If God is choosing who is saved, doesn’t that undermine our free will to choose and believe in Christ? The Bible says that we have the choice—all who believe in Jesus Christ will be saved (John 3:16; Romans 10:9-10). The Bible never describes God rejecting anyone who believes in Him or turning away anyone who is seeking Him (Deuteronomy 4:29). The truths of God’s sovereign predestination and also man’s responsibility are not mutually exclusive. Somehow, in the mystery of God, predestination works hand-in-hand with a person being drawn by God (John 6:44) and believing unto salvation (Romans 1:16). God predestines who will be saved, and we must choose Christ in order to be saved. Both facts are equally true. Romans 11:33 proclaims, “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!”
(Copied from gotquestion.com, article entitled “What is predestination?”)

What is foreknowledge?

Once more, we look to the Bible to explain itself.

“Foreknowledge is knowing things or events before they exist or happen. In Greek, the term for “foreknowledge” is prognosis, which expresses the idea of knowing reality before it is real and events before they occur. In Christian theology, foreknowledge refers to the all-knowing, omniscient nature of God whereby He knows reality before it is real, all things and events before they happen, and all people before they exist…. “

“The Bible teaches that God’s children were chosen beforehand, and God’s foreknowledge was involved. The elect are those “who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father” (1 Peter 1:2). “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters” (Romans 8:29).

However…

“The foreknowledge of God is farther than His ability to “see the future”; His foreknowledge is a true “knowing” of what will come to pass, based on His free choice. He decrees what will come to pass. In other words, foreknowledge is not just intellectual; it is personal and relational.”
(gotquestion.com, article entited “What is foreknowledge in the Bible?”)

What the Bible is saying, then, is that
God chose people to be conformed to the image of Jesus because it gave Him pleasure to do so. He also chose them, called them, and conformed them to the image of Jesus because He knew and decided it would happen before it happened.

‭Ephesians 1:11 NLT‬
[11] “Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makesp everything work out according to his plan.”

God’s foreknowledge and predestination is reason, then, not to complain but to celebrate as a revelation of His mercy and grace.