Uploaded October 2017 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
It's one of the most encouraging finds in science. A small protein, known to be the glue that holds living tissue together, is actually shaped like a cross. Gary Stearman and J.R. Church report on a lecture by Pastor/Evangelist Louie Giglio of Atlanta, Georgia, in which he challenges his audience to realize that God is so big that he can breathe out gigantic stars a thousand times larger than our sun, and yet, he can make a "laminin" protein molecule so small that it takes an electron microscope to see it.
Through an amazing confluence of events, Louie Giglio met a molecular biologist who gave him a vital piece of information about the construction of living tissue. The biologist told him about laminin, a protein that performs the function of a glue, by which the structural matrix of living tissue is held together. Remarkably, this tissue is in the shape of a cross. Why is it called laminin? This fibrous protein is present between the thin plates, or stacked layers of tissue called "lamina," from the Latin meaning "thin parallel layers." In English, we have the words "laminar," or "laminate," meaning "layered." To the Christian believer, the discovery that living tissue is held together by something shaped like a cross is a stunning reminder of several basic biblical truths. As an external, objective truth, the Cross has been preached the world over. But to see it as an internal truth, vital to life itself, is to bring Christ to a whole new level in the human dialogue. Among other things, it addresses the current heated dialogue about intelligent design. Darwin could never have envisioned the microscopic perfection that characterizes life at the cellular level. The man on the cross was, after all, the Creator. To believers, the Cross was not merely an instrument of state execution, it was an instrument of life, and it began with the incarnation:
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men" (John 1:1-4).
The word was incarnated in human flesh to bring life to a dying world. With great care and specificity, John points out that he created everything, and that nothing exists unless he brought it into existence, as revealed in the book of Colossians:
"In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist (Colossians 1:14-17).
Here, the word "consist" is translated from the Greek word "sunestemi." In Vine's Expository Dictionary of the New Testament Greek, it is defined as "to stand with or fall together, to be constituted, to be compact; it is said of the universe as upheld by the Lord" (page 230). Vine's words are almost prophetic as we consider the insights implicit within the cross-shaped substance that glues living tissue together. Pastor Giglio was also quick to draw this insight and to bring it's truths to awe-inspired audiences across the country. Under a microscope, we can see the marvel of the true origin of creation itself and who was responsible for it. It can be seen in the structure of the laminin. Suddenly, we come to the truth that he is the living Word who spoke all things into creation. Then, his essence became imbedded in the creation, so that anyone with eyes to see can obtain visual proof of his grand design ... of his very presence.
It's one of the most encouraging finds in science. A small protein, known to be the glue that holds living tissue together, is actually shaped like a cross. Gary Stearman and J.R. Church report on a lecture by Pastor/Evangelist Louie Giglio of Atlanta, Georgia, in which he challenges his audience to realize that God is so big that he can breathe out gigantic stars a thousand times larger than our sun, and yet, he can make a "laminin" protein molecule so small that it takes an electron microscope to see it.
Through an amazing confluence of events, Louie Giglio met a molecular biologist who gave him a vital piece of information about the construction of living tissue. The biologist told him about laminin, a protein that performs the function of a glue, by which the structural matrix of living tissue is held together. Remarkably, this tissue is in the shape of a cross. Why is it called laminin? This fibrous protein is present between the thin plates, or stacked layers of tissue called "lamina," from the Latin meaning "thin parallel layers." In English, we have the words "laminar," or "laminate," meaning "layered." To the Christian believer, the discovery that living tissue is held together by something shaped like a cross is a stunning reminder of several basic biblical truths. As an external, objective truth, the Cross has been preached the world over. But to see it as an internal truth, vital to life itself, is to bring Christ to a whole new level in the human dialogue. Among other things, it addresses the current heated dialogue about intelligent design. Darwin could never have envisioned the microscopic perfection that characterizes life at the cellular level. The man on the cross was, after all, the Creator. To believers, the Cross was not merely an instrument of state execution, it was an instrument of life, and it began with the incarnation:
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men" (John 1:1-4).
The word was incarnated in human flesh to bring life to a dying world. With great care and specificity, John points out that he created everything, and that nothing exists unless he brought it into existence, as revealed in the book of Colossians:
"In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist (Colossians 1:14-17).
Here, the word "consist" is translated from the Greek word "sunestemi." In Vine's Expository Dictionary of the New Testament Greek, it is defined as "to stand with or fall together, to be constituted, to be compact; it is said of the universe as upheld by the Lord" (page 230). Vine's words are almost prophetic as we consider the insights implicit within the cross-shaped substance that glues living tissue together. Pastor Giglio was also quick to draw this insight and to bring it's truths to awe-inspired audiences across the country. Under a microscope, we can see the marvel of the true origin of creation itself and who was responsible for it. It can be seen in the structure of the laminin. Suddenly, we come to the truth that he is the living Word who spoke all things into creation. Then, his essence became imbedded in the creation, so that anyone with eyes to see can obtain visual proof of his grand design ... of his very presence.
