THE WONDER OF PLANT LIFE

Written By Ryan Coon

The top three most mentioned living things in the Bible are God, people, and plant life, particularly trees. Trees are mentioned in the first chapter of the Bible, the last chapter of the Bible, and all throughout. Plant life is critical to creation and for life on earth to be habitable. The Bible tells us God created plants with specific and intentional purposes to provide for humans and animals. Plants also serve as a means of shelter for both humans and animals. On the third day of creation, God completed two important tasks: formed dry ground by separating the seas from land so he could provide vegetation, plants, and trees. 

Genesis 1:9-12
Then God said, “Let the waters beneath the sky flow together into one place, so dry ground may appear.” And that is what happened. 10 God called the dry ground “land” and the waters “seas.” And God saw that it was good. 11 Then God said, “Let the land sprout with vegetation—every sort of seed-bearing plant, and trees that grow seed-bearing fruit. These seeds will then produce the kinds of plants and trees from which they came.” And that is what happened. 12 The land produced vegetation—all sorts of seed-bearing plants, and trees with seed-bearing fruit. Their seeds produced plants and trees of the same kind. And God saw that it was good. 13 And evening passed and morning came, marking the third day.

Further, when mankind was made and the 6th day was done, God mentions plant life again.

Genesis 1:29-30
Then God said, “Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food. 30 And I have given every green plant as food for all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, and the small animals that scurry along the ground—everything that has life.”

Genesis 2:4b-10
When the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, 5 neither wild plants nor grains were growing on the earth. For the Lord God had not yet sent rain to water the earth, and there were no people to cultivate the soil. 6 Instead, springs came up from the ground and watered all the land. 7 Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person.8 Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden in the east, and there he placed the man he had made. 9 The Lord God made all sorts of trees grow up from the ground—trees that were beautiful and that produced delicious fruit. In the middle of the garden he placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 10 A river flowed from the land of Eden, watering the garden and then dividing into four branches.

And then we know about the drama surrounding the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 

Awe and Wonder of Plants

There are approximately 400,000 species of plants on our planet and counting. Plants are complex, and many species function in ways that have stumped scientists, leaving them without explanation. Plants appear to be functioning with intelligence in many ways. Scientists have found codes of information stored in seeds, and then, of course, we have been observing the intelligence of plants. To creationists like us, we know God designed plants to function, reproduce, adapt, survive, thrive, and feed our planet in a variety of ecosystems using the design God gave them. Consider the following plant species and their unique characteristics and astonishing design.  

Giant Water Lilly

The Amazon Water Lily begins growing deep in the muddy bottom of the Amazon River, where it quickly stretches upwards toward the sunlight, sometimes growing more than 30 feet to reach the surface. Once it arrives at the surface, it makes space for itself by swinging one of its buds around like a club. It stops growing upward and begins growing outward, creating huge floating leaves that can reach 6-10 feet wide. These pads are supported by air-filled veins that help them float, and the raised edges keep water from weighing them down. Sharp spines underneath help protect the plant from fish and other creatures. 

Pollination process

On the first night of its blooming cycle, the white flower opens and releases a sweet fragrance that attracts beetles. The white flower of some species of this plant serves as a signal for beetles that come out at night. Thirdly, the beetles are attracted to the flower’s thermogenic heat, which can be up to 20 degrees warmer than the air temperature of the Amazon, providing a warm refuge for the beetle. The flower then closes around the beetle overnight, covering it with pollen. The next day, the flower opens up and releases the beetle unharmed, ready to visit another flower. By the second night, the flower turns pink, a sign that it has already been pollinated, no longer releasing a sweet perfume or providing warm refuge. In this process, both the beetle and the lily benefit, which shows how God created plants and insects to work together to survive and thrive in the river environment. 

  • Creation, Remarkable Evidence of God's Design by Grant Jeffrey

  • Pollination of the Water Lily https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPR8kxTyG9Q

Venus Fly Trap

The Venus flytrap produces tall white flowers that keep bees and other insects that would pollinate the flowers away from the traps near the ground. Each trap contains tiny trigger hairs that can detect movement. What’s amazing is that the Venus flytrap appears to “count” touches. One touch starts a temporary memory timer inside the leaf. A second touch within about 20-30 seconds causes the trap to close. When an insect touches one of the hairs on the trap, the plant generates an electrical signal called an “action potential.” This is the same kind of electrical impulse human nerve cells use to send messages. The electrical signal causes water inside the plant cells to shift quickly, flipping the leaf shut like a spring trap. The flytrap can snap shut in about one-tenth of a second, faster than a human blink. As the insect moves in the closed leaf and touches the trigger hairs again, the trap tightens more. By the fifth touch, the plant knows that it has captured something and produces digestive enzymes. The digestive fluids break down the insect over several days, allowing the trap to absorb the nutrients. Each trap can only open and close a few times before it dies, so the plant conserves energy and avoids wasting effort on things that are not alive.

The Bee Orchid Flower

The Bee Orchid’s petals mimic a fuzzy female bee, even reflecting light in a way that resembles insect wings. The flower also releases a scent similar to the pheromones of a female bee, attracting male bees to land on it and carry pollen from flower to flower. Each Bee Orchid has its own unique markings and patterns; it is rare to find identical flowers. God created the Bee Orchid with the ability to self-pollinate if the specific bee it depends on is not available. This helps the flower survive in different environments and continue producing new flowers. 

The Mimic Vine

The Boquila trifoliolata, or the Mimic Vine, found in the rainforests of Chile and Argentina, is a climbing vine that has the ability to mimic the plants growing around it. Its leaves can change shape, size, color, and stem length to match nearby “host” plants. It has appeared to mimic over 20 different species on a single vine. It does not always need direct contact with another plant to take on its appearance. The vine can mimic neighboring plants over an air gap, suggesting a sensory method still unknown.  One study tested the vine against a fake houseplant, and the part of the vine within “sight” of the fake houseplant began to change, whereas the part of the vine out of “view” remained the same. More research is needed for this to be conclusive, but what an amazing outcome. This plant has baffled scientists, and now they are asking a peculiar question: Is it possible that Mimic Vines can see?! Researchers suggest the plant might have "ocelli" (light-sensitive cells) that function like tiny eyes, enabling it to perceive the shape of its surroundings.

The Sun Flower

The Sunflower, or Helianthus, gets its name from two Greek words, Helios meaning “sun” and Anthos meaning “flower”. “One of the most astounding abilities of the sunflower is the way it can follow the sun across the sky for most of its life. This is called heliotropism, or the tracking of the sun’s path by a plant. How can the sunflower do this? Amazingly, it has an organic hydraulic system that changes the pressure of the water in the neck of the stem, called the pulvinus, according to the angle of sunlight. So during the day, the stem of the sunflower uses its motor cells to elongate the side away from the sun, tilting leaves and immature flowers toward the sun, and ending up facing west at sunset” (Mario Seiglie). At night, it resets itself and turns to face east again. This helps the sunflower absorb 10-15% more sunlight for photosynthesis. The flower contains light-detecting systems that can determine the direction of light, the length of the day, the season, and the quality of light around it. It can also adjust its pigment production depending on those light conditions, which includes producing protective pigments to protect itself from UV light. The seeds of the sunflower are arranged in precise spirals that follow Fibonacci number patterns, something scientists and mathematicians have studied for years because of their precision and arrangement. They are positioned using what is called the “golden angle,” which allows the greatest number of seeds to fit into the smallest space, maximizing their production of seeds.

Giant Sequoia Trees

The Earth has more than 64 thousand species of trees. The Giant Sequoia stands as a masterpiece that continuously pushes the limits of physics and engineering. Often cited as a “monument to the Creator” due to its sheer scale and survival mechanisms, a mature giant sequoia can reach a trunk diameter of over 30 feet and a circumference of nearly 100 feet. While coastal redwoods grow taller, sequoias are much wider, boasting individual branches up to 8 feet in diameter, larger than the trunks of most ordinary adult trees. A single giant sequoia can weigh more than 6,000 tons, which is equivalent to roughly 60 school buses or 2.7 million pounds in the case of the famous "General Sherman" tree. 

To sustain this immense weight and growth over 300 feet tall, sequoias must overcome extreme gravity to pull water from their roots to the top. Every day, 300 to 1,000 gallons of water are pumped throughout the tree, but how do they achieve this gravity-defying work? Through transpiration, a process of pull and cohesion within microscopic xylem tubes that act like a massive, silent pump. Scientists have long marveled at how this water column does not simply snap under such intense tension. 

Remarkably, despite their massive weight, sequoias have surprisingly shallow roots, only 3 to 6 feet deep. They survive fierce storms and stay upright by interlocking their roots with neighboring sequoias, creating a massive, stable platform through mutual support. 

This shared strength allows giant sequoias to live for more than 3,000 years; the oldest recorded specimen lived to be approximately 3,266 years old, meaning it was already centuries old when the Roman Empire began. Unlike many organisms that slow down with age, giant sequoias never stop growing and continue to add new wood every year they are alive. Their outer defense relies on a fibrous bark that can grow up to 3 feet thick, contains almost no flammable resins, and is packed with air pockets and tannic acid. This unique composition acts like a heat shield, making the tree heavily resistant to fire, insects, and fungal rot. 

While most plants are destroyed by fire, the giant sequoia actually requires it to reproduce. The intense heat from a forest fire causes their cones, which can stay closed on the tree for up to 20 years, to dry out, open, and release their seeds. This ensures the seeds land directly onto fresh, nutrient-rich ash precisely when competing undergrowth has been cleared away.

Despite being one of the largest living things on Earth, a sequoia's seeds are remarkably small, measuring about the size of an oat flake or a grain of rice. Inside each tiny seed is a microscopic blueprint, information, and every complex instruction for future leaf size, bark shape, and chemical defense systems. Even more amazing, these seeds come preloaded with a built-in food supply, a botanical "lunchbox" known as the endosperm, to nourish and sustain the baby plant during germination. This initial energy reserve fuels the seedling's rapid early growth, keeping it alive until it can successfully sprout roots, unfurl its first leaves, and perform photosynthesis on its own.

400,000 species in the plant kingdom all working in marvelous, symbiotic, and at times mysterious ways. Life that speaks to design, intelligence, and order. Truly, the plant kingdom is a reflection of God's provision and creative glory. Perhaps, we are just catching up and learning what God has made and how it works because of advanced technology.

George Washington Carver: The renowned American agricultural botanist and inventor (famous for his work with sweet potatoes and peanuts) viewed his discoveries as a revelation of the Creator's work rather than a product of evolutionary chance.

"God made the clay in the hills; they have been there for countless generations, changeless. All I do is prepare what God has made, for uses to which man can put it. It is God's work - not mine."

Carver rejected the idea that agricultural systems emerged through blind evolutionary chance, viewing the laws of nature as the active, broadcasting voice of an intelligent Creator. 

"It is not difficult for me to have this faith, for it is incontrovertible that where there is a plan, there is intelligence—an orderly, unfolding universe testifies to the truth of the most majestic statement ever uttered: 'In the beginning, God.'"

https://www.icr.org/article/15356/

Robert Boyle: The father of modern chemistry, Boyle was deeply fascinated by biological structures, particularly botany and plant physiology. He viewed the intricate clockwork mechanisms of living organisms as absolute proof of an intelligent architect. On the design found in plants and animals:

"The admirable structure of animals and plants, and the wonderful adaptations of their parts to specific uses, are so many clear demonstrations of the existence of a most wise, powerful, and beneficent Author of Nature."

https://www.icr.org/fb/Great-Scientists/

Application:

Plant life plays a critical role in making Earth habitable for life and is a part of our everyday practical life. Plants produce oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide. Plants provide food, supply wood, paper, clothing fibers, and building materials. Plants create medicines and useful chemicals. Regulate climate, rainfall, and temperature. Prevent soil erosion and support healthy soil. Support ecosystems by providing habitats for wildlife. Improve human health, beauty, and mental well-being. In short, plants and trees sustain life, support civilization, and keep Earth’s environment stable. Once again, God has provided for our needs. 

God uses plant life, especially trees, as a metaphor to speak about our spiritual lives.

  • Psalms 1:1-6 NLT Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. 2 But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. 3 They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do. 4 But not the wicked! They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind. 5 They will be condemned at the time of judgment. Sinners will have no place among the godly. 6 For the Lord watches over the path of the godly, but the path of the wicked leads to destruction.

  • Jeremiah 17:5-8 NLT This is what the Lord says: “Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the Lord. 6 They are like stunted shrubs in the desert, with no hope for the future. They will live in the barren wilderness, in an uninhabited salty land. 7 “But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. 8 They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.

  • Psalm 92:12  But the godly will flourish like palm trees and grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon.

  • Psalms 96:10-13 NLT Tell all the nations, “The Lord reigns!” The world stands firm and cannot be shaken. He will judge all peoples fairly. 11 Let the heavens be glad, and the earth rejoice! Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise! 12 Let the fields and their crops burst out with joy! Let the trees of the forest sing for joy 13 before the Lord, for he is coming! He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with justice, and the nations with his truth.

Like a tree planted by a riverbed, stay planted in God

  • These scriptures speak a simple truth. Those who trust and plant themselves in God have a life-giving future. Those who live outside of God’s will have a grim future. Plant yourself in God and His Word. Trust in God, not in yourself or in others for life. The future for the godly is secure, but for the wicked it is destruction. Why would we walk in the way of the wicked or depend on human ways when we know what the future holds?

Like a plant gives life, be life-giving to everyone around you.

  • A tree provides fruit, refuge, and resources. Bear the fruit, the love, the gifts of the Spirit. Be an oak of righteousness. Remain in God, and you will be full of joy and life. God will also transform you to be a source of joy and life for those around you. 

Closing:

Like the sunflower turns towards the sun to live and thrive, turn towards Christ!

  • Isaiah 55:6-7, 12-13 NLT [6] Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near. 7 Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong. Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously…12 You will live in joy and peace. The mountains and hills will burst into song, and the trees of the field will clap their hands! 13 Where once there were thorns, cypress trees will grow. Where nettles grew, myrtles will sprout up. These events will bring great honor to the Lord’s name; they will be an everlasting sign of his power and love.”

  • Wheat and Weeds - Matthew 13:24-30

  • Repent and experience the flourishing life God has for you.

A Prayer for Salvation

Jesus, I know that I am a sinner in need of Your grace.

Today I confess You as my Lord and put my trust in You alone.

I believe that You died on the cross for my sins and rose again.

Thank you for forgiving me and making me new.

Lead me as I follow You from this day forward.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.



Discussion

  • Which plant or tree example from the sermon amazed you the most, and why?

  • How does the pollination process of the Amazon Water Lily show cooperation and design in creation?

  • The Venus Flytrap appears to “count” touches, what does this say about the complexity of creation?

  • The sunflower constantly turns toward the sun for life and growth. How does this serve as a picture of our relationship with Christ?

  • Giant Sequoias survive by intertwining their roots with other trees. What can Christians learn from that about community and support?

  • In what ways can believers become “life-giving” people to those around them?

  • What additional notes did you make during the sermon?

  • How can we pray together for you today?

The most important decision you will ever make!

If you’re ready to trust in Jesus for salvation and eternal life, we encourage you to process this decision with a strong believer and, when you’re ready, say a simple prayer like this from your heart: Dear God, I acknowledge and admit I have sinned. I see my need for Jesus Christ. I believe in Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I believe I am forgiven and cleansed of my sin by His death. I also believe I have eternal life because of His resurrection from the dead. I repent, I turn away from my old ways, and I choose to live my life to worship you and follow Jesus, Amen!

We would love to know if you decided to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Let us know here.

Pray Together

We hope you found this AFTER THE SERMON discussion helpful for your walk with Jesus. We pray you can find ways to apply it this week!

Ryan Coon
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THE WONDER OF EARTH