---
title: Acts 15:28
url: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/acts-15-28/
markdown: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/acts-15-28.md
type: verse
perspective: Protestant (historic Nicene) response to Jehovah's Witness teaching
reference: Acts 15:28
testament: NT
section: Acts
index: https://jw-apologetics.app/llms.txt
---

# Acts 15:28

## Text (Berean Standard Bible)

> It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond these essential requirements:

## NWT Wording of the Key Phrase

- NWT (2013 revision): "For the holy spirit and we ourselves have favored adding no further burden to you except these necessary things:"

## JW Usage

JWs cite Acts 15:28 for two distinct purposes. First, it is the primary proof-text for the blood transfusion ban: "it seemed good to the holy spirit and to us to add no further burden to you, except these necessary things... abstain from... blood" (Acts 15:28-29). The Watchtower treats "abstain from blood" as a standing Christian command covering transfusions, even though transfusions did not exist in the first century. Second, the verse is cited to establish the Jerusalem Council as the "first-century governing body" whose modern counterpart is the Watchtower Governing Body — the phrase "it seemed good to the holy spirit and to us" is invoked to frame Governing Body decisions as Spirit-directed in the same apostolic sense.

## Protestant Usage

The NWT at Acts 15:28 reads: "For the holy spirit and we ourselves have favored adding no further burden to you, except these necessary things." Two contextual facts undo both Watchtower uses. First, the "necessary things" are a pastoral resolution to a specific Gentile-Jewish fellowship crisis (verses 1, 5) — three of the four items concern food, and Acts 15:21 ties the list to sensitivity toward synagogue-attending Jews. It is not a general standing ethic detachable from its first-century purpose, which is why Paul later treats food offered to idols — a fellow item in the decree — as a conscience matter in 1 Corinthians 8 and 10. A transfusion is not eaten; even Orthodox Jews, who take dietary blood laws more seriously than anyone, have no problem with transfusions. Second, the "us" of verse 28 are the apostles themselves (verse 6) — men personally commissioned by the risen Christ, whose apostolic charism was the basis for the Spirit's direct involvement. The council met once, issued one pastoral ruling, and never reconvened; no second Jerusalem council appears anywhere in the New Testament. The Governing Body cannot inherit an apostolic charism the Bible never says transfers, and cannot read a perpetual office out of a one-time meeting. The 2026 blood-policy shifts — leaving a Witness's own blood to conscience because "the Bible does not comment on the use of a person's own blood in medical and surgical care" (March), then the four main components of donor blood (September) — expose the human character of the rule by the Watchtower's own admission, since the Bible does not comment on whole-blood transfusion either. See blood-transfusion, acts15-one-time-not-template, holy-spirit-personhood, blood-breast-milk.

## NWT Issue

NWT renders "the holy spirit" (lowercase) throughout, including the critical phrase "the holy spirit and we ourselves have favored" — consistent with the systemic depersonalising typography that runs through every NT Spirit reference (compare Acts 5:3-4, 13:2). Acts 15:28 is diagnostic: the pairing "*the holy spirit and we ourselves*" grammatically couples the Spirit with the human apostles as co-agents of the decision, which is strong personhood language (impersonal forces do not "favour" or co-decide alongside people). The NWT preserves the co-agency in the translation while typographically softening it via lowercase — a classic case of subtle depersonalisation.

## Arguments Using This Verse

- [The Holy Spirit Is a Person, Not a Force](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/holy-spirit-personhood.md) — "He will guide you into all truth" (John 16:13) [Holy Spirit]
- [Blood Transfusions](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/blood-transfusion.md) — Acts 15:28-29 — "Abstain from Blood" [Authority]
- [The Breast Milk Problem](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/blood-breast-milk.md) — White Blood Cells in Every Drop [Authority]
- [Acts 15 — A One-Time Council, Not a Standing Body](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/acts15-one-time-not-template.md) — The Jerusalem meeting never reconvened, never legislated again, never appointed successors [Authority]
- [Foundation Laid Once — Apostles Are Not a Perpetual Office](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/apostles-foundation-eph220.md) — Ephesians 2:20 — A foundation is poured once, and the building stands on it forever [Authority]
- [The Spirit Says 'I'](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/paraclete-personal-pneumatology.md) — Acts 13:2 — First-Person Verbs in Narrative Prose [Holy Spirit]
- [The Apostolic Decree's Four Items](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/blood-acts15-apostolic-decree.md) — Acts 15:29 vs 1 Corinthians 8 — Paul's Own Hermeneutic [Practice]
- [Do Christians Pray to the Holy Spirit?](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/prayer-to-holy-spirit.md) — Romans 8:26-27 — the Spirit is the one praying with us [Holy Spirit]
- [What Is Still Forbidden?](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/blood-still-forbidden.md) — Four components, whole blood, and the line no verse draws [Authority]