In 2 Cor. 3:12-18 the apostle depicted how the ministers of the new covenant are constituted. In this chapter, from v. 1 through v. 6 he went on to tell how they as the ministers of the new covenant conducted themselves for the carrying out of their ministry; from v. 7 through v. 18 he described the kind of life they lived, a life that made them one with their ministry. This chapter mentions several aspects of their experience that correspond with and confirm what was spoken in ch. 3 concerning the ministry of the new covenant:
1) the peace the apostle experienced as a result of the manifestation of life in the midst of turmoil in vv. 8-9 corresponds with the righteousness as the fruit of peace (James 3:18), i.e., the expression of the image of God in a proper and orderly way, mentioned in 2 Cor. 3:9;
2) the life in vv. 10-12 corresponds with the Spirit in 2 Cor. 3:6, 8, 17-18;
3) being renewed in v. 16 corresponds with being transformed in 2 Cor. 3:18;
4) the eternal weight of glory in v. 17 corresponds with the degrees of glory in 3:18.