Does Paul see Timothy as his official representative?

The titles brother and coworker are often understood as a means by which Paul attributes high status to Timothy, thus implying that he had the authority to represent and act on behalf of the apostle. Weima goes as far as claiming that by presenting Timothy as his own representative Paul defends his current absence from the Thessalonians, since by so doing he asserts that Timothy’s presence was an adequate substitute for his own. I would contend, however, that the terminology which Paul uses in these verses draws attention to Timothy’s role as a minister of the gospel and coworker of God, rather than an official representative of Paul. This becomes clear when we compare the way Paul describes Timothy’s ministry here with the way he describes his own, especially in Romans.