Regardless
of the myriad of opinions concerning the literary unit of II Corinthians itself
. . . and its relationship to I Corinthians, all are agreed on the basis of 1
Cor. 5:9 that the canonical II Corinthians is at least the third letter that
Pual sent to the church in Corinth. (Scott J. Hafemann, Suffering and
Ministry in the Spirit: Paul’s Defense of His Ministry in II Corinthians
2:14-3:3 [Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1990], 7 n. 1)