The Divine Side

But Paul had another resource; he went up by revelation and communicated unto them that gospel which he preached among the Gentiles. (Gal. 2:2.) This was the divine side. And so with Timothy, much as he liked him, and preferred him to Titus, Silas, or Luke, yet Paul was divinely bound to employ Timothy. "This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee" 1 Tim. 1:18. Thus it became known in a public way that he was not only the beloved and trusted friend of the apostle, but had a kind of public service committed to him by the voice of prophecy. There could have been no jealousy of his position. Meeting with him at Lystra, Paul makes him the companion of all his purposes and thoughts. "Thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith.”
Timothy is with him in all the journey through Phrygia and Galatia, until the vision of Paul at Troas. (Acts 16:9.) Here Timothy appears for the first time to have left him the narrative being taken up by Luke, as we suppose from the first person plural "we." We do not find his name mentioned during Paul's stay at Philippi, where it is possible Luke was left on the departure of Paul. Acts 17 takes the narrative up again in the third person.
At Thessalonica Timothy is again his companion (Acts 17:14), and at Corinth (Acts 18:5), and also at Ephesus (Acts 19:22), from whence he was sent into Macedonia. In Acts 20:4, we find his name among those who accompanied Paul into Asia, and the narrative is resumed by Luke. We have several notices of Timothy during the apostle's detention at Rome, as he is conjoined in the address to the Philippians with the hope, too, of sending him speedily to them. His name also appears in the epistle to the Colossians and to Philemon. He is mentioned to the Hebrews as having been lately loosed from prison, but not at that time with the Apostle Paul.