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believingThomas asks:
I recognize that you have appealed to the wording in sripture of John 17:2 and John 6:37. Only recently have I come to see these verses in a differerent light. I am considering the posibility these passages refer to predestination.
I wouldn't press those passages into areas in which they do not speak, nor IMHO, were they intended to address the subject of predestination. Jesus was specifically addressing the matter of the outward evidence which come from two types of individuals (hearts).

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There is a sense that I could say that a tree has a burden of fruit and there are good and bad apples on the tree. On the one hand, God "shakes the tree" and Jesus holds out a basket. God's predestined hand guides only the good apples into Jesus' basket.
Again, I think you are wresting these passages from their intended purpose. Further, by doing so you are clouding or even distorting the Lord's teaching which was there are only two kinds of individuals (trees); 1) those that have a good source (regenerated heart) who produce "good fruit", i.e., works which are pleasing and acceptable to God, and 2) those which have a bad source (unregenerate heart) who produce "bad fruit", i.e., works which are not pleasing to God and thus are unacceptable/rejected.

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Help me to understand that Jesus mentions He does not pray for the world (kosmos) in John 17:9 but God so loved the world (kosmos) in John 3:16. Obviously, by internal evidence alone, the kosmoi of these passages must be a different entity.
We must define the meaning/scope of any word which we find in Scripture by it's context. FYI, the word "kosmos" has seven different meanings in Scripture. You can read about this more and specifically how "world" is used in John 3:16 here:

THE ‘WORLD’ OF JOHN 3:16 DOES NOT MEAN ‘ALL MEN WITHOUT EXCEPTION’

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Would you consider "..those whom You have given Me.." of John 17:9 to be all the Elect? Or only the disciples (the 12 whom Jesus called to follow Him during His earthly ministry)? John 17:2 seems to be less restrictive, that "as many as" most likely extends to individuals beyond the immediate 12.
I would take that phrase to mean both.... those immediately present with Christ, i.e., the disciples, which probably included far more than the Twelve and it extends to all those whom the Father predestinated to salvation.

You might want to peruse the extensive list of articles on these two subjects here:

1) The Atonement of the Lord Christ
2) Predestination

In His Grace,

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simul iustus et peccator

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