Does the Bible ever command wives to love their husbands?
The Bible never commands wives to love their husbands. Although Peter instructs mothers to teach their daughters how to love a husband, Scripture nowhere gives wives that command. Instead, husbands are commanded to love their wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it.
Les teaches that the Scripture never tells wives to love their husbands—never. He acknowledges Peter tells mothers to teach their daughters how to love a husband, but it is never commanded of the woman. Instead, the command is to husbands: love your wives. Les explains this goes back to creation, where God created Adam with the ability to love his helpmate and Eve with the ability to respond. He parallels this to salvation: when we are saved and placed into the body, we have an innate ability to love Him in return. Husbands are to love their wives with total love, as Christ loved the church and died for her, which prevents divorce.
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
Why are husbands commanded to love their wives while wives are not commanded to love their husbands?
Scripture commands husbands to love their wives because God created Adam with the ability to love his helpmate, while He created Eve with the ability to respond. The husband's love mirrors Christ's sacrificial love for the church, and the wife's role is responsive, as the church responds to Christ.
Why does Scripture command husbands to love their wives but not wives to love their husbands?
Scripture assigns husbands the command to love because God created Adam with the capacity to love his helpmate, while He created Eve with the capacity to respond. The wife's love is therefore presented as an innate response, not an explicit command, reflecting the created order and the church's response to Christ.