Splendid question Jake. I don't know. I wonder the same myself.
You quote John 3:16 all the time. It’s one of the most widely quoted and famous Bible verses. It’s been called the "Gospel in a nutshell" because it summarizes the central theme of following Jesus.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believed in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
To me, ”whosoever” means just that.
It doesn’t say ‘whosoever I predetermined.’
According to the Scriptures natural man is blind concerning the things of salvation and his heart is depraved as a result of Adam’s sin which is ours as “mankind”. The Spirit opens our eyes to see Christ and His gracious offer of righteousness in God’s eyes as a result of His active & passive obedience, death, and resurrection. He also allows us to see ourselves as we truly are, moving us to our knees in humble subservience and service due to the gratitude this grace inevitably engenders in us.
This is the beauty of the Gospel that “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us...”
We are far, far, worse off then we could possibly imagine but God is far, far, far more gracious than we could fathom too.
So “whosoever” will come are in fact those whom God has predestined.
