3 John 1:13 (LSB)

Passage

I had many things to write to you, but I am not willing to write them to you with pen and ink;

Nearby Context

3 John 1:11 Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God.

3 John 1:12 Demetrius has received a good witness from everyone, and from the truth itself; and we add our witness, and you know that our witness is true.

3 John 1:13 I had many things to write to you, but I am not willing to write them to you with pen and ink;

3 John 1:14 but I hope to see you shortly, and we will speak face to face.

3 John 1:15 Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends by name.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "things", "write", and "willing". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "things" and "write", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 12's "Demetrius has received a good witness from..." into verse 14's "but I hope to see you shortly...", so "things" and "write" belong inside that flow. In 3 John context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "things" and "write" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.