• unwillingness to be open and honest in handling the word of God;
• disbelief in the others' calling and that your God is their God;
• intolerance and lack of mercy for another's struggle to live righteously;
• hard-heartedness about their blind spots and weaknesses;
• refusal to forgive and be reconciled;
• disrespect for, jealousy and envy over the gifts and talents the other has;
• attributing to others ulterior motives and ungodly characteristics, critically discussing them with others, and negligence in following the principles of resolution in Mt 18:15-18;
• refusal to communicate in a godly way;
• denial of or being blasé about one's own faults;
• disappointments in not seeing growth and godly change over time in oneself and/or others.

There would also be an increase or decrease of communication and of spending time together! What factors contribute to the desire to communicate and spend time together?

• agreement on beliefs;
• agreement on purposes, intentions and goals;
• agreement in love;
• respect and appreciation of the other;
• willingness and openness in resolving disagreements as they arise;
• trust of the other;
• mercy and forgiveness as eminent features of godly relationship; & c.

• unwillingness to apply biblical principles in all situations;
• unwillingness to discus biblical principles;
• refusal to be corrected and rebuked-after all, "The other knows less and is not as informed as I am!"
• denial and anger, hidden or openly shown, when corrected;
• denial and anger when rebuke is implied or inferred;
• protection of self-interests or opinions; & c.

WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE
Surely the overall conclusion is that for all to come into the unity of the Faith, for all to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ, for all to strive to more zealously follow the true teaching of the Son of God, all of us need:

1. a heart and will that is wholeheartedly seeking the Will of God;
2. a heart and mind that hungers and thirsts after the righteousness the Bible demands;
3. a heart willing to accept correction and washing by the word of God;
4. a heart and mind that abhors what is evil, seeks what is good, overcomes evil with good;
5. a heart that fears God and does not fear man (consider the following for study: 2Tim 1:7; Mt 10:26-31; Jn 12:15-16; Acts 9:31; 10:1-2,22,35; 2Cor 7:1,11,15; Eph 5:21; Phil 2:12; 1Tim 5:20; Heb 4:1; 5:7; 10:31; 11:7; 12:28; 13:6; 1Jn 4:18; Rev 11:18; 15:4; 19:5).

• What is the difference between grow and growing?

• What is the difference between overcome and overcoming?

THE BIBLE ON "OVERCOMING"
The Word of God is the understanding of what God's Will is, as defined by God, for the earthly and celestial realms.

We are commanded to live by every Word of God (Mt 4:4; Lk 4:4; Dt 8:3). Satan is the ruler of this present evil world and inspires and deludes mankind into his delusionary will. The will of the Evil One offers the freedom to do anything one chooses as long as it is somehow in disagreement with the Will of God or circumvents some of His Will.

The Bible is also a record of the unremitting rebellion of people, in a myriad of ways, illustrating the wages of sin. The Bible is furthermore a history of the saints overcoming the Evil One and his insatiable desires to bring man to destruction. Satan exploits weaknesses to sabotage godliness. Is it not clear that overcoming, defeating the often unperceived lusts of the flesh and the mind, conquering evil with good, is a key doctrine of God?

The first use of the Greek word for overcome in the Gospel written by John is in John 16:33.

Jesus is speaking to the apostles at His last supper and says: "I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome (nenikeka) the world."

Dictionaries that deal with NT Greek tell us:
nikao means: to overcome, conquer, prevail, get the victory; be victorious over all foes. Overcoming is characteristic of Christians, who hold fast to their faith even unto death against the power of their foes, against all temptations and persecutions; when one is arraigned or goes to law, to win the case, and maintain one's righteous cause.

Louw & Nida (39.57) in their Greek-English Lexicon give:

nika,w ni,kh, hj ni/koj ouj
to win a victory over - 'to be victorious over, to be a victor, to conquer, victory.'
nika,w pa/n to. gegennhme,non evk tou/ qeou/ nika|/ to.n ko,smon
'every child of God is victorious over the world' 1Jn 5.4.

ni/koj tw|/ de. qew|/ ca,rij tw|/ dido,nti h`mi/n to. ni/koj dia. tou/ kuri,ou h`mw/n VIhsou/ Cristou/
'thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ' 1Cor 15.57.

In the same epistle, chapter 8, in a section dealing with the extremes of being destabilized from the Faith and separated from the love of God, we hear:

Rom 8:37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors (hypernikomen: i.e., super-overcomers) through Him who loved us.

1Jn 2:13-14 I write to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning (Greek has from [a] beginning; cp. Jn 1:1; 8:44; Rev 3:14). I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the Wicked One (nenikekate ton poneron). I write to you, little children, because you have known the Father. 14 I have written to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the Wicked One (nenikekate ton poneron).


1Jn 5:4,5 For whoever is born of God overcomes (nika) the world.
And this is the victory that has overcome the world, the Faith
h` ni,kh h` nikh,sasa to.n ko,smon h` pi,stij.
5 Who is he who overcomes the world
o` nikw/n to.n ko,smon
but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

Rev 2:7 concludes the message to the church in Ephesus with: "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to [all] the churches. To him who overcomes (nikonti) I will give to eat from the Tree of Life (Rev 22:1-2), which is in the midst of the Paradise of God" (for more on Paradise see 2Cor 12:4; Rev 21:9-11,22-27).
Rev 2:11 concludes the message to Smyrna with: "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to [all] the churches. He who overcomes (nikon) shall not be hurt by the second death."
Rev 2:17 says to the church in Pergamos: "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to [all] the churches. To him who overcomes (nikonti) I will give some of the hidden Manna to eat (Jesus Christ is the hidden Bread of Life because few can find Him). And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it" (see Is 62:2; Rev 3:12; 14:1).
Rev 2:26 speaks to Thyatira: "And he who overcomes (nikon), and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations."
Rev 3:5-6 addresses the saints in Sardis: "He who overcomes (nikon) shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. 6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to [all] the churches."
Rev 3:12 speaks to the church in Philadelphia: "He who overcomes (nikon), I will make him a pillar in the Temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. And I will write on him the Name of My God and the Name of the City of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of Heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new Name."
Rev 3:21-22 makes a final statement to Laodicea and to all the churches of God: "To him who overcomes (nikon) I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. 22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."

Rev 5:5 But one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed (has overcome, has conquered, enikesen) to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals."

Rev 12:11 "And they overcame (enikesan) him (i.e., the Devil) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death."

Rev 15:2-5 And I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have the victory (nikontas) over the beast, over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God. 3 They sing the song of Moses (cp. Rev 14:1-4), the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying: "Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints! 4 Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your Name? For You alone are holy. For all nations shall come and worship before You, for Your judgments have been manifested."

Rev 21:7 He who overcomes (nikon) shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.

If the individual Christian and the local Christian community are growing in the unity of the Faith (Eph 4:1-6)-which all Christians must do, for it is characteristic of those who live in Truth-then these things will be happening:

• godly love and affection will be growing-not the pretence of love;
• righteous communication will be increasing-not the avoidance of issues;
• true friendships will be strengthening and enriching-not weakening and held together by outward necessities;
• genuine respect and recognition of others' gifts and talents will be growing-not the prideful growth of self-opinion and inner alienation from others and the community;
• tolerance and patience will be more evident-not anger and hidden impatience with people's supposed follies, foibles, or ignorance;
• willingness to share, to communicate, to encourage, to rejoice and suffer together, to exhort, listen to and learn from one another, to rebuke and correct in a godly manner will become increasingly characteristic-not the building of hidden defences, attempts at intimidation, and rejection of well-intentioned input;
• an open-hearted, gracious disposition towards the saints who love, as God does, those who are begotten by God (1Jn 5:1-5) will be seen more and more.