What Scripture says
Paul mentions letters we don’t have:
- An earlier letter to Corinth: “I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people” (1 Corinthians 5:9, ESV).
- A letter from Laodicea: “And when this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea” (Colossians 4:16).
- A “tearful letter”: “I wrote to you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears” (2 Corinthians 2:4), which may be another lost letter or may be 1 Corinthians.
What the evidence says
History
Not every letter was for the whole church
Paul wrote to churches about their particular situations. Not every letter was copied, collected and circulated to the whole church. The letters that were preserved were those the churches recognized as useful for all, and kept, copied and shared.
The earlier letter to Corinth
This letter dealt with sexual immorality, and the Corinthians misunderstood it as telling them to avoid all immoral people in the world. Paul clarifies in 1 Corinthians 5:9–13 that he meant immoral people within the church. So its content survives in substance in 1 Corinthians. Some scholars think part of it may survive in 2 Corinthians 6:14–7:1, which reads like a separate fragment, though this is debated.
The letter from Laodicea
Laodicea was a city near Colossae. The “letter from Laodicea” may be:
- A letter Paul wrote to Laodicea, now lost.
- Ephesians, which may have been a circular letter sent to several churches in the region. Some of the earliest manuscripts lack the words “in Ephesus” in its opening verse (Ephesians 1:1), and Ephesians has few personal greetings, unusual for a church Paul knew well. The 2nd-century teacher Marcion called Ephesians “the letter to the Laodiceans”.
The forged Epistle to the Laodiceans
A short Latin “Epistle to the Laodiceans” circulated from at least the 6th century and appears in many medieval Latin Bibles, including some early English and German translations. It is about 20 verses long, stitched together from phrases in Philippians and Galatians, with no new content. Scholars agree it is a forgery, likely written to fill the gap Colossians 4:16 seemed to leave.
Even earlier, the Muratorian Fragment (probably late 2nd century) warns against a forged letter “to the Laodiceans” associated with Marcion’s followers, “which cannot be received into the catholic church, for it is not fitting that gall be mixed with honey.”
| Letter | Mentioned in | What happened to it |
|---|---|---|
| Earlier letter to Corinth | 1 Corinthians 5:9 | Lost; content restated in 1 Corinthians |
| Tearful letter | 2 Corinthians 2:4 | Possibly lost, or 1 Corinthians |
| Letter from Laodicea | Colossians 4:16 | Possibly Ephesians, or lost |
| Latin “Epistle to the Laodiceans” | Medieval Bibles | A forgery |
Where they meet
Paul’s mentions of other letters show the New Testament doesn’t pretend to contain everything an apostle ever wrote. It contains what the churches recognized as Scripture for all. The early church’s rejection of the forged Laodiceans letter shows it was careful about what it accepted.
What’s still open
- Whether the letter from Laodicea was Ephesians or a lost letter.
- What the earlier letter to Corinth said in detail.
Bottom line
Paul’s lost letters are mentioned in 1 Corinthians 5:9 and Colossians 4:16. Not every apostolic letter was meant for the whole church. The “Epistle to the Laodiceans” in circulation is a later forgery stitched from Paul’s phrases. This is rated Settled.