2 Corinthians 2:3

Now Paul referred to a previous letter in which he said he told them he would not come to them again in sorrow. Is this a reference to 1 Corinthians? Some commentators believe it is. [Note: E.g., Hughes, Alford, Denney, Lightfoot, Bernard, Sanday, Zahn, Lenski, et al.] Nevertheless the lack of an explicit reference to not coming to them again in sorrow in that epistle throws some doubt on this interpretation. Consequently other commentators have posited the existence of another letter. They believe it was similar to the former letter referred to in 1 Corinthians 5:9 in that it is no longer extant, and that Paul spoke of it here. [Note: E.g., Guthrie, Kent, Barrett, Harris, Plummer, Tasker, Leitzmann, Bachmann, Windisch, Allo, Lowery, myself, et al.] This letter is a fairly recent suggestion by the commentators. Traditionally interpreters have understood the reference to be to 1 Corinthians. However the problem with that view, as mentioned above, is significant (cf. 2 Corinthians 7:8).

The identification of the letter referred to here does not affect the interpretation of Paul’s words here, however important it may be for other reasons. His reference to this former letter simply strengthens his point made in 2 Corinthians 2:2 that when he came to visit them again he wished to be a source of joy, not sorrow. He wanted them to make him joyful too.

"This does not mean merely that it would give them pleasure to see him happy, but also that obedience on their part, and the consequent purity and prosperity of the church, were as necessary to their happiness as to his." [Note: Hodge, p. 33.]