In this chapter, Paul refers to a letter he previously wrote to the Corinthians. That letter had a harsh and corrective tone. Paul probably wrote it after the letter known as First Corinthians and before this letter. He implies that the church had to rebuke an erring member. Paul is now encouraging them to be gracious to that person. (See: [[rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/grace]] and [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit]])