Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Corinthians 2:3

"And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling." — 1 Corinthians 2:3 (ASV)

And I was with you.—To show that the real force of his teaching lay in its subject matter, and not in any power with which he may have proclaimed the gospel, the Apostle now elaborates on his own physical weakness. The weakness and fear and trembling of which St. Paul speaks here likely included a large element of that self-distrust which so noble and sensitive a nature would feel in the fulfillment of such an exalted mission as the preaching of the Cross.

I cannot think, however, that the allusion is only to that. There is, I believe, a reference also to what we may call a physical apprehension of danger. The bravest are not those who do not experience any sensation of fear, but rather those who are keenly aware of danger, who have an instinctive shrinking from it, and yet eventually by their moral strength conquer this dread. Traces of this element in St. Paul’s character are found in several places; for example, in Acts 18:9, when the Lord encouraged him as he was laboring in Corinth with the hopeful words, Be not afraid; again in Acts 23:11, when, after the terrible scene before Ananias had depressed him, the Lord was with him to strengthen him, Be of good cheer, Paul; and in Acts 27:24, when the angel of the Lord appeared to him amid the storm and shipwreck, Fear not, Paul.